


drawn towards the other

by lionessliv



Category: HoO - Fandom, PJO - Fandom, Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Office, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-08
Updated: 2018-05-06
Packaged: 2019-01-10 15:07:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 30,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12301698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lionessliv/pseuds/lionessliv
Summary: A new job, new colleagues and a new boss - Annabeth loves challenges but the attraction between her and her new boss, some guy named Percy Jackson, could become a problem. Or something else, something really wonderful.





	1. MONDAY

The moment Annabeth had walked through the doors this morning, she knew things were going to be tough. The looks and the whispers accompanied her from the second she’d entered the building, in the elevator, on the floor, and she could even see them whispering as she sat down behind the glass doors of her office. It was a small room with a great sight out on Central Park. She had her own desk, some cupboards filled with files and binders, an electric kettle, and some nice cups and mugs. The glass walls did not give her the littlest of privacy but she had a good view on the different passages that were without doors and nicely designed. One lead to a big office, crowded with desks and full of people. Next to it was the elevator, exactly opposite her door and on the left, was a small kitchen with a coffee machine and a microwave. Pots of flowers and plants stood around everywhere and the walls were coloured in a dark and relaxing blue.  
  
This though did nothing to sooth her today. Her heart was beating fast due to her nervousness. _Don’t be silly! _, she said to herself in her head. _You can do this! You’ve worked hard to get promoted here and the contacts you’ll make will be valuable later. _Telling herself this over and over again she sat down on her desk and looked around. The office next to hers, the big boss’s office, was still empty. The little clock on her desk revealed it was shortly after seven, so why on earth would the company leader be here by now?____  
  
Unpacking her briefcase, she noticed a wave going through the people on the other side of the glass door. Of course, she couldn’t hear them but they moved and their heads turned as a short thin man with weird eyes and blonde hair approached Annabeth’s door, entered without knocking, and sat down in front of her on one of the comfortable-looking blue chairs.  
  
“Chase, right?”, he said in a high and annoying voice. “My name is Blinder, Octavian Blinder, I’m responsible for the marketing and social media.” He sounded more than uninterested and watched his fingernails as he was talking.  
  
Annabeth raised an eyebrow. Blinder must have been around her age, but if he could make a good post on Facebook or Instagram, she’d be more than impressed.  
  
“Anyways”, he continued, examining his thumb nail closer, “we need Mr Jackson to sign those files by nine so we can post them and he should please consider re-thinking my suggestion for Snapchat. Well, don’t you want to write it down?”, he asked after Annabeth had only nodded and continued to unpack her laptop and some pens.  
  
“No, Mr Blinder, I can keep that in mind, thank you.”, she said as the door opened again. A woman twice Annabeth’s age entered and looked around. Blinder stood up, not without mumbling: “Smartass”, just loud enough so Annabeth could hear him, nodding at the woman, and leaving the office now biting on his thumb nail. Annabeth shivered with disgust and hoped to not see that man soon again. Oh, how wrong she was.  
  
“Where’s Millie?”, the woman asked. She had dark skin and a soft voice. Her dark curls started to become grey but she didn’t seem to mind. Her yellow dress made her look like some sun Goddess.  
  
“Uhm”, Annabeth mumbled and frowned. This Millie girl was probably her predecessor so she decided to introduce herself. “I don’t know but my name is Annabeth Chase. I’m the new secretary of Mr Jackson and will from now on handle everything Millie did.”, she said and tried a smile but the woman did not smile back at her.  
  
“Well, Millie’s coffee was excellent. I hope you can do that, too. Give those to Mr Jackson”, she shot a quick look into his office, rising her eyebrows, and handling Annabeth some files, “as soon as he arrives.”, she said, her voice sounding disapproving and mocking. “Tell him I would appreciate his opinion on the next article.” Again, she sounded as if she would appreciate anything over Mr Jackson’s opinion of her article. Annabeth nodded as the phone rang.  
  
“Jackson Enterprises, office of Mr Jackson. What can I do for you?”, she said and hoped it was the correct way to introduce her. The black woman left with her eyebrows raised in disregard and closed the door behind her. On the phone, she had a store owner complaining about a missing delivery of a stock of copies of the life style magazine. It was quite hard for Annabeth to understand what he wanted since she had no idea how to help him out. After ten minutes of being yelled at she assured him to call him back, as soon as she had found someone to manage his problems.  
  
As she hung up she leaned back in her seat. She had made a note of the caller and put it on the desk filing on her right. She shot a quick look at the clock and sighed. Half past seven. A young man looked into her office, walked past and into the kitchen. It didn’t take him thirty seconds before he knocked, _oh people could do that? _, and entered her office.__  
  
“Uhm”, he said. He was short and podgy but his suit looked expensive. All the people here wore expensive clothes, Annabeth had noticed this before. She peeped down at her white shirt-blouse and the dark blue pencil skirt. “Where is the coffee?”, a voice pulled her out of her thoughts. The young man still watched her as if he was afraid of her. Without answering she raised one eyebrow. He swallowed. “Millie always used to make coffee.”, he explained and, after three more seconds of Annabeth’s glare, decided to leave.  
  
Okay, this was too much. As soon as he had disappeared into the big office again, Annabeth lifted off her chair and straightened her skirt. _You got this! This job is important! _, she reminded herself and walked over to the kitchen to make some coffee. Some other people had gathered here to look at the empty coffee machine as if they were waiting for a miracle to happen.__  
  
“Eh, excuse me?”, she said and pushed her way through to the coffee machine. “I’d like to make coffee.”, she announced, feeling a bit uneasy. But the crowd didn’t seem to mind. They were obviously eager to see whether her coffee-making skills were _as good as Millie’s. _Annabeth sighed. Obviously, this Millie seemed to have had the approval of the whole office. So, she did not only have to go against annoying people in expensive clothes and high positions to earn respect, she needed to be as good as Millie, too, if not even better to be accepted by her co-workers. _Well great… _____  
  
While filling the coffee machine she could hear whispers behind her and suddenly the room was empty. She shovelled some more coffee in the machine, hoping it would do, put it on, and turned around to see why they all had left. As she realised what, or rather who, made them all disappear, she swallowed. A man stood there, arms crossed before his chest, his green eyes watching her and a smile on his lips.  
  
Oh…  
  
Annabeth took a deep breath and smiled at him. “Good morning Mr Jackson. Coffee?” His eyes settled on the machine and he raised an eyebrow.  
“You think you really want to give me a cup of _this _?”, he asked and Annabeth followed his gaze. “Oh my Gods”, she whispered and the next second the mix of hot water and wet coffee powder exploded. Her shirt suddenly was wet with hot water, her blouse was now brown instead of white and she could feel her skin burn.__  
  
She couldn’t help but let out a little scream. Mr Jackson stepped forward and tried to help her with a handkerchief but patting her arms and her shoulders only made it worse. She shook her head while mumbling apologies the whole time. “I am sorry, so so sorry Mr Jackson. Really sorry.”, she stammered, feeling tears coming up due to the heat on her skin.  
  
“You should take that off”, he said and frowned at her shirt now.  
  
“I shou- what?”, Annabeth stammered and looked at him. What did he just say?  
  
“You should take that off before you burn your chest even more.”, he said insistently. His fingers flew over her buttons, undoing them, and pulling off her blouse, leaving her standing in only her bra. But obviously her boss didn’t seem to mind. He just looked at her exposed skin, which was red and seemed burnt. “This will need some time to heal, I guess.” He raised his hand and nearly touched the soft skin under her collar bones before he stopped mid-motion.  
  
Annabeth met his gaze and held her breath. She looked into his green eyes and immediately was reminded of something. Of course, they were green but there was some softness in them and a shimmer of some dark blue. She had to think of a lagoon and of summer. His skin was tanned and his dark hair hung into his eyes, his mouth stood slightly open as he looked back at her, his eyes first scanning her grey ones and then her face.  
  
“This… is really unprofessional, I am deeply sorry.”, he then slowly said and straightened his back. “Please, take this.” He gave her his suit jacket, her dirty blouse still in his hand. “I hope your skin isn’t too burnt?”, he asked after an uncomfortable silence, his eyes still lingering on her skin. Annabeth bit her lip, still holding the jacket in her hands. She saw his gaze wander to her white lace bra and suddenly it hit her – she was standing in the kitchen with her boss, skin burnt and in her underwear.  
  
Her boss’s jacket was far too large to fit. Of course it was. His broad shoulders, the muscular back, the big arms… She sighed and pulled his suit jacket closer around her exposed body. “I am sorry, Mr Jackson. I should have… checked up on the machine… or… I-”  
  
“Don’t worry, Miss Chase.”, he said and smiled softly. “This can happen…”  
  
“… on the first day in the new job as the assistant of the boss whose jacket I have ruined?”, she finished his sentence and raised an eyebrow. “I really should have maybe… called Millie?”  
  
“Ugh, no, please.”, he said, shook his head, and frowned. “I could not stand that woman. Everybody else loved her – I mean…” He raised his hand and dishevelled his dark hair. After that, it stood away from his head even more. He looked more like a boy now than a man who’d run a company. “Just, make sure you’re okay and maybe… get a new shirt?”, his gaze stayed on Annabeth in his suit jacket for a bit too long before he could pull away. “And in the meantime… I’ll take calls and do… my job. I guess.” He grinned at her and suddenly Annabeth felt like a school girl again, her hands feeling sweaty and unable to produce clear words. She simply nodded and then turned on her heels, leaving the kitchen.  
  
Her way lead her through the crowded office and as soon as she stood in the elevator, on her way down towards the street to buy a new shirt, she sighed deeply. All she could think of while she watched the numbers count down from 23 to zero was how stupid she had handled this situation. _This job is important. You can do that! _– my ass. Great work, Annabeth! She had made a fool out of herself and wasn’t even there for a whole day. And it only got worse as she walked back to her office again. Mr Jackson’s suit jacket lay over her arm, neatly folded, as she walked into the big office. Suddenly, the whole room went dead-silent.__  
  
Walking back to her office, she heard people whispering and trying to get a better look at her. Trying to ignore it she held her chin up and didn’t look left or right. Someone seemed to have fixed the coffee problem since she could smell it in the whole office.  
  
She took her place behind her desk again and saw a note laying there: “I’ll pick up the jacket when I’m back from the meeting. PJ” Putting the jacket on a shelf behind her she looked over the files on her desk. He had signed the requested ones and had drawn a sad smiley about Octavian’s request to get the company a Snapchat account. She giggled and put it all aside.  
  
The next hours flew by. People came in, complimenting her on the coffee she didn’t make and asking for when Mr Jackson would be back, presenting her with files he needed to sign and photo stories he needed to look over. Soon Annabeth had met, or at least so she felt, the whole sum of employees Jackson Enterprise held. When Mr Jackson return she handed him his jacket but he waved her to follow him.  
  
“This might have come a bit short”, he said and sat down behind his desk, gesturing her to take a seat, “but welcome to the company.” He smiled at her and put a stock of photographs aside, leaning on his desk. “I am glad we now have you here, as I said, Millie was not my favourite person and I bet you’ll do great.” He smiled at her.  
  
“Thank you, Mr Jackson”, Annabeth said, a bit breathless and Mr Jackson smiled even more. “I have some questions, if you don’t mind.” His green eyes seemed to lighten up and he raised an eyebrow. “How exactly should I answer the phone? How can I reach you if you’re not in your office and, let’s say, an emergency occurs? Do we have any employees who need special handling? Which things and maybe people have a higher priority and-”  
  
“Ms Chase”, he said and leaned back laughing. He held his stomach with one hand and covered his face with the other. Annabeth thought it looked really cute but was shocked about herself the next second. This was her boss, who she’d met some hours ago – on her first day! “You seem very eager and I think this is good. Well, then let’s see to it. Highly ranked are natural resources, that’d be Mr Underwood, and the Social Media things, aka Mr Blinder.” He now pulled a face. “I am really sorry you’ll have to deal with Octavian but he makes the best predictions about what will put the company more in focus of the readers and maybe not-readers-yet. Another important area is the coffee machine, so you better learn how to handle it. Today I covered for you but I can’t make coffee every day.” Here he actually winked at Annabeth who thought she must be dreaming.  
  
“Alright…”, she stammered and shook her head a little, before straightening her back. “About the answering? Oh, and there was a caller this morning, he complained because a stock of our magazines hadn’t arrived at his store.”  
  
“Ah, these things go straight to Ms McLean. She’s the head of Customer Service and she knows better than anyone I know how to handle unhappy people and callers. She’s got her office at the end of the hallway.” He paused for a second and then said, with an amused chuckle: “You two should meet, you’ll direct quite a few calls to her office.”  
  
Annabeth nodded and made a mental note to meet Ms McLean as soon as she could. “Oh, another thing”, Mr Jackson now said and looked a bit weary now, “Millie, although I couldn’t really stand, her, mostly stayed as long as I did. Of course, this gets payed extra but I-”  
  
“Say no more”, Annabeth said. Anything Millie could do, she could do _better _. “I’ll be here for as long as you need me.” A smile flashed across his face and he nodded, just as if he wanted to say: Thought so.__  
  
“Well, then Ms Chase, I think we’ll get along just fine.”  
  
Right he was. That day Annabeth grew into all her tasks and in her break, she even managed to understand the complexity of the company’s coffee machine. She took calls and directed them to the offices of people who were able to deal with the complaints, she met Mr Underwood, a nice but shy guy who offered her to call him Grover after the few minutes they’d talked while he waited for Mr Jackson to finish a call. She’d taken a call from Mr Jackson’s mother, who seemed like the loveliest woman she’d ever met, nothing in comparison to her mother, and talked to her as long as Mr Jackson had returned to his office. She could not help but notice the looks he shot her while he talked to his mother and the little smile he’d shown her then. She also met Ms McLean who introduced herself as Piper the moment Annabeth shook her hand.  
  
“Oh, you’re the new one? I’m glad to finally meet you! Percy, eh, Mr Jackson told me that Millie will have to go. I’m glad you’re here now. How did your first day go?”, she said and reached for a bag under her desk. Annabeth frowned but then she saw the time. It was nearly half past five!  
  
“Uhm, it flew by I’d say.” Piper laughed and nodded. She shut down the computer and rose from her seat.  
  
“This is normal, I promise. Makes work so much fun. You come in, you work a bit and suddenly you can leave again and have made some money.” She smiled. “I love working here and I get along with nearly everyone, so if you’ll ever need someone, let me know. I bet I can help you.” She stretched out her hand, a warm smile on her lips. Her brown hair was full of little braid and unevenly cut but her eyes sparkled and her dark skin looked flawless. She vibrated with beauty and warmth and Annabeth couldn’t help but like her immediately. She shook her hand but Piper pulled her into a hug and patter her back. “See you tomorrow, Annabeth.” And with that she was gone.  
  
A few minutes later Annabeth fell on her seat behind her back and reached for the bottle of water from her back. With horror she realised it was still nearly full, she hadn’t drank the whole day! Soon she scribbled a note and pinned it on her computer screen - _STAY HYDRATED _it said. After there was only half a bottle of water left, Annabeth glanced over to Mr Jackson’s office. He stood in front of his window front, back turned towards her, only in his white shirt, the blue tie hung loosely around his neck, and he was talking to someone on the phone. She could hear him laugh and he dishevelled his hair again and then sitting down, putting the phone aside. He took a deep breath and then grabbed his suit jacket, threw it on and packed his things together, letting the phone slid in one pocket before he left his office.__  
  
“Alright Ms Chase, first day is officially over.” She’d rose to her feet as he stopped in front of her desk but now she felt awkward. His eyes wandered over her face, then her new shirt and then he broke into a smile.  
  
“Thank you, Mr Jackson”, she said and sat back down to grab her personal belongings. As she looked up, he still stood there, waiting for her. “Uhm…?”  
  
“I thought we could… take the elevator together?”, he said and unsure raised one eyebrow. “I mean, we both leave and it would be awkward if I’d leave and wait for the elevator and then you come along and we could have gone there together so I thought I’d just… you know. Wait for you.” He shrugged but Annabeth couldn’t help but smile.  
  
“Sure. Just, let me get my stuff.” With that she grabbed the coffee brown shirt blouse and put it in her back, along with her water bottle and a few pens. He held the door open for her but then walked next to her. Besides a few people sitting on their desks the big office was nearly empty. Mr Jackson pushed the button and they waited for the elevator to arrive while an awkward silence grew between them.  
  
“You know”, he then started, scratching his back, “I hope your skin is okay soon. This looked really bad this morning.” His gaze wandered towards where the fabric of her blouse hid the red skin, then up to her face. His concern seemed true, honest.  
  
“It was my own fault and it won’t happen again.”, Annabeth ensured him and tried a little smile but failed. His eyes confused her. Now they seemed darker. Not like a lagoon, more like storm.  
  
“My mom said camomile and aloe vera would help.” Annabeth’s eyes widened with panic as he said that. He’d told his mother? The elevator arrived and the doors slid open and again her boss let her enter first before following. “She asked me about my new secretary after the two of you had talked a while and I told her about it and that’s what she came up with.” He still looked a bit uncomfortable, but he rather sounded as if he really wanted to help her. She had looked up a few things in her break but this sounded reasonable.  
  
After a few seconds in which she’d thought about her response she said: “Thank you, Mr Jackson. Really.”  
  
He looked up from studying his shoes and a smile broke onto his face that lit it up wholly. “You’re most welcome, Ms Chase. Most welcome.” They both smiled but looking in his eyes Annabeth nearly forgot where they were and what they were doing. This weird feeling between them was hanging in the air, as thick as syrup and if Annabeth had stretched out her hand she was sure she could have grasped it out of the air. The subtle ‘ping’ of the elevator doors pulled both of them back into reality. Mr Jackson cleared his throat and gestured her to leave the elevator first.  
  
“Have a wonderful evening, Ms Chase”, he said as they’d left the building.  
  
“You… too.”, was all Annabeth could say before he turned away and walked down the street. Well, this was going to be interesting.


	2. TUESDAY

The next morning started with the alarm clock. Percy lifted his head and eyed the clock face suspiciously, as if he could persuade it through staring to give him some more time to sleep. He had no success.  


After a shower and a bowl of cereal – no, not the healthy one Hazel had proposed but the colourful and probably cancer-causing one – he left his apartment and got into the car. Although it didn’t seem like it, the fun part of his morning was nearly over. Behaving like a kid instead of a grown-up, having ice cream for dinner and staying up ridiculously late for playing the latest game, these were things he could do at home and not in the office. At home, where he was just Percy, not the leader of a life style magazine company. At home, where no one was watching. Where there was no one to share it with. Percy sighed.  


He started the engine. It was not his favourite way of transport, usually he rode his bike, but it poured and sometimes the car needed to be moved as well. His mother used the car as well and it benefited her more than Percy. His little sister needed to get to school, his mom to work and sometimes it was used to transport Percy, Paul, his mom, and Cassie to fun weekend trips.  


Today would not be a fun-weekend-trip-day. Percy sighed while turning left. He had a meeting with Octavian, that idiot, today at eight, then a discussion with the board about the next issue, then he needed to see some photographs and call someone who might work for them when their current photographer found out that he would, well… have to reorient.  


Coffee. He needed coffee. And maybe a bagel. Luckily, he knew the best place for an early second-before-work-breakfast. Percy left the car and walked into a little coffee shop with an in-built pastry shop, not a block away from his office. A big, broadly-built Chinese man stood behind the counter and filled out a form. A few people sat in the back and chatted. His face lit up as he saw Percy.  


“Long time no see Percy!”, Frank came around the counter and hugged him. Percy just loved this guy. He looked so tough and scary but inside he was a gentle, kind, person. His better half popped her head through a door that led to the ovens. Golden shimmering curls framed her face and made her dark skin glow. A smile that was nearly too wide for her face appeared on her lips and she hugged Percy tightly.  


“I knew I heard right. Where have you been?”, she asked while letting go of him. Percy immediately found his black shirt stained with flour but he couldn’t care less. Frank’s and Hazel’s coffee shop had been his first and last refuge, before and after work, so often, he did not care about his looks, he cared about them.  


“Work was killing me lately. I was out of secretaries since Millie had to go.”, he said while Frank nodded and went behind the counter again.  


“Same as usual?”, he asked and Percy nodded. He really needed this coffee with an extra espresso and a shot of salted caramel cream right now.  


“Out of secretaries?”, Hazel asked and wiped her hands on her flour-covered apron. “That means you fired Millie?”  


Percy sighed. “Yes. She was driving me crazy. But I have a new one, since yesterday.” His hand automatically wandered to his neck and rubbed it.  


“Oh”, Hazel and Frank said in unison and looked at each other in silent understanding. Although the actions that followed these glares often went against him, Percy admired their silent understanding. That’s what he wanted. Someone to understand him, his weird sarcasm, the tiny signals – all that he saw with Hazel and Frank, or his mom and his step-dad.  


“Oh what?”, Percy whined and let himself sink in a chair. “What now?”  


“Your body language.”, Frank said.  


“The hand in your neck.”, Hazel added.  


“The looking down.”, Frank nodded and looked at Hazel and together they said: “Those are signals.”  


“Signals for what?”, Percy wanted to know. What were the two of them going on about now?  


“That you like the new secretary. Remembering her made you look nervous and happy for a second.”, Hazel said and smiled sweetly. Then a beeping filled the air and she clasped her hands before her mouth. “My tartes!”, she whined and scurried back to the oven.  


“Tell me about her”, Frank said, handing Percy his coffee.  


Percy frowned. What was there to tell about Annabeth Chase? He knew her for one day! “Well, her name is Annabeth Chase. She actually is over-qualified. She has a degree in literature and has done internships at nearly every big newspaper company you can imagine. Yesterday was her first day and she let the coffee machine explode.” He grinned and Frank raised an eyebrow. “Has probably never made her own coffee, dunno. She is very very, like, very interested and does her job quite well, at least, from what I’ve noticed so far.”  


Hazel had returned, standing in the doorway, leaning on it and listening. She smiled and wanted to say something but Frank interrupted her: “What about her looks?”, which made Hazel frown.  


“She… well, she looks good. I guess. I don’t know?”, Percy said, trying to sound persuasive. “I could send her down later and you can make yourselves a picture of her. What do you think of that?”  


Frank looked at Hazel who smiled brightly. “Sounds like a great idea! Here, I made you a bagel back there. I bet you wanted one and only forgot to mention it.” She winked at him and handed him the bag.  


“You’re an angel Hazel. Thank you so much. Guess I better get going now. See you guys.” With that Percy payed, including a ridiculously high tip, and left. He was only a little bit late when he arrived ten minutes later in his office. Annabeth was there already.  


Today she was wearing dark jeans and a grey pullover that had such a long neckline that it hung over her shoulder and revealed some of the skin there. Her blonde hair was up in a ponytail and some loose strands of hair hung into her grey eyes. Although all of this was immensely fascinating, Percy couldn’t help but stare at her skin. As she noticed his gaze she immediately apologized.  


“I’m sorry about the outfit Mr Jackson but this is one of the few pieces I own that don’t scratch my skin beneath it. I will make sure to wear something more appropri-”  


“Ms Chase”, he quickly interrupted her and forced himself to pull his gaze away from her shoulders and the skin that showed. “It’s fine. I fully support your, well, your body, especially its healing after what happened yesterday.” As the sentence was out, he realised how weird this sounded but Annabeth giggled and nodded.  


“Thank you, sir.”, she said and cleared her throat. She was standing again so Percy thought she could follow him to his office anyways. But before he even had made a signal for her to do so or said one word, she came around the desk and stepped besides him. “This morning you have a meeting with Mr Blinder. He was here already to remind me to remind you.” She sighed.  


It amused him that her knowledge of human nature obviously was so well developed that she’d noticed already what an idiot Octavian could be. “He also said”, she continued, “to remind you of his Snapchat idea.”  


“I will continue to draw sad smileys on these papers until I die”, Percy declared and grinned at Annabeth. She nodded, the trace of a smile on her lips.  


“Next thing up is the board meeting and you need to call the photographer. Both of them, actually.” Percy sat down and started his laptop. There were seven new emails in his inbox – a fact that made him frown. Only seven? “Oh”, Annabeth said as she noticed his face, “and I checked your emails and answered the ones I could.”  


This was actually not her task. Not yet. With Millie, he had discussed her work area and as soon as he trusted her abilities enough, which took quite some time, expanded her tasks. Percy scrolled through his mails and checked the answers. Mostly they were intern mails asking for a time spot in his schedule that Annabeth, eh, Ms Chase, had given them. His notebook openly lay at the desk next to his keyboard and all the new dates were already written in it. Ms Chase’s handwriting was orderly and more ornate than his own but she did her job well.  


As he looked up, he saw her biting her lip. Apart from that nothing showed that she was worried that she had gone too far. Her confidence was baffling him but she had done nothing wrong. Still, it bugged him.  


“Thank you, Ms Chase”, he said and looked up. She nodded and looked at her own notebook. Obviously, nothing was on it anymore and she looked back at him.  


“Can I do anything else, sir?”, she asked. Through the glass front he could see some of his employees coming from the kitchen with steaming mugs. Coffee had obviously been already made. He shook his head and tried another smile.  


“Thank you, Ms Chase. I’ll let you know.” She left the room and took her seat behind her desk. Percy had hated that damn glass wall when Millie had worked here. He had to watch her do her nails while talking on the phone, chatting with the other employees more than actually doing her work and every three hours or so going to make some new coffee. But with Annabeth… Oh, come on Percy! With Ms Chase, it was different. She sat at her desk, taking calls, and writing emails as if she was here forever. Maybe even before Percy himself.  


Still, this stunt she’d pulled… Well, if she wanted a challenge, she’d get one.  


The tasks he had on his schedule today would have taken him the whole day. But maybe he could use it as a test to see how well she’d actually do. Percy made a list with tasks and stood up, taking his phone and jacket.  


“Ms Chase”, he said and Annabeth’s head shot up. She was writing another email and her blond curls hung in her grey eyes. For a moment, he forgot what he wanted to say. The impact she had on him was weird. But fascinating. Her eyes scanned his face before they lingered on the list. “I have some tasks for you. I wrote everything down and I need to get to the board meeting now. I am sure you’ll be done with this list by lunchtime.”  


Carefully he watched her reaction as she scanned the tasks, the names and she was biting her lower lip again while she read the list concentrated, which made Percy smile.  


“Of course, Mr Jackson”, she replied and he nodded contently.  


“I thought so. I’ll check in with you after lunch.”, he said and turned to walk to his board meeting. He’d never been a fan of those meetings but there was one good thing about them. He could see his friends.  


As he walked into the room, a few seats were already taken. A tall girl with short black hair looked up from her phone and smiled at him. Her blue eyes sparkled as he sat down next to her. “Finally!”, she said and grinned. “I was getting bored with all those serious business people around me.”  


Although she insulted him in a way, calling him an unserious business man, he couldn’t stay mad at Thalia. Not for one second. “I’m glad to see you, too. Where’s your brother?”, Percy said grinning and looked around. Jason was nowhere in sight. Not that it was hard to overlook him. He and Thalia couldn’t have looked any more different. Thalia, with her dark hair and her thoughtfulness, who would never step into the spotlight – if not necessary. Still, she had the ability to command a the attention of a whole room without any effort. And then there’s her younger brother, Jason. Tall, blonde, absolutely born for the spotlight. His ability to rationally negotiate between his employees, between different companies, between his friends, always marked him down as the leader – which is why he’d gotten a job that high ranking in his young age in their parents’ company.  


“What do you think?”, she asked and her eyes seemed to sparkle again. That was the only thing the siblings had in common. Those light blue eyes.  


“Piper?”, Percy suggested and smiled.  


“Piper”, Thalia confirmed. Percy’s head of customer service and Thalia’s little brother had met on an office Christmas party and were dating since then – should be two years now? Whenever Thalia and Jason came over to join a board meeting, Jason was lost the moment he’d entered the building until the meeting began. “He should be here any minu-”  


“Percy, I’m glad to see you!”, Jason said, entering the room this very moment. He patted him on the back and sat down next to his sister. Percy grinned. His usually so accurately brushed hair looked a bit unorderly but he was happy for him.  


“Glad to see you too, Jason.”, Percy said, as Grover took his seat next to him. He nodded at the siblings and nudged Percy’s shoulder.  


“I have a copy of the report you asked for, the one about cutting down on the CO2 emissions. Turns out the recycled paper is not as shiny as the one we used before but the emissions are nearly cut half through it. Maybe you should talk to Rachel about it.”  


Percy took it and scanned the report. This was good. Really good. As he looked back up, he noticed everyone was there and after clearing his throat, he opened the board meeting.  


Two hours later he came through his office doors, only to find Annabeth’s desk empty. Well, she certainly was completing his list. A familiar figure lingered in one of the comfy seats in front of his desk and Percy smiled. Although he was already exhausted this would be nice.  


“You’re not on the list.”, he said and Leo’s head popped up, the dark curls flying as he looked around to see Percy standing in the doorway, holding a cup of Annabeth’s coffee in his hand. Ms Chase’s coffee. Damn it.  


“Aw, come on, Boss. You’ll have time for a little signature, right?”, he grinned and Percy got behind his desk, putting down his papers and the mug.  


“What’s it this time, Valdez?”, Percy really tried to be annoyed, but he couldn’t. Leo was, although a little young, an incredibly talented IT manager. His skills were that good, one time the entire company server was down and Leo somehow managed to get it to the printers and the copy could be published as if nothing had happened. Up to this day nobody knew how he’d managed that. But from then on he was head of IT and did a wonderful job, although his favourite response to any problem still was: Have you tried turning it off and on again?  


“I need a signature, your new secretary… Well, I have to admit, she scares me, but she looks great. Have you noticed that?” He leaned forward and wiggled his eyebrows. Percy sighed but couldn’t help a smile.  


“What about her?”, he asked and took the sheet Leo handed him and scanned it.  


“She did what you asked her to do. Came around, told me about the missing signature and that, if I don’t get it, I will probably lose my job or something.” His eyes widened. “She was scary. Good scary, I mean. But I came straight up here to get the signature. I mean, if I understood correctly I actually need a permit to do certain things on the server and since I don’t have that one – you know.” He shrugged and Percy shook his head, a grin on his face.  


“Well, there you go. You’re now officially allowed to continue your work.”  


“Thanks Boss, really. And, she is really good lo-”  


“Get going, Valdez!”  


“Alright, alright. Thanks though, Boss-man!” And with that Leo Valdez had vanished. It always was a bit complicated to get him away from his machines since he loved them so much, which is why Annabeth mildly impressed Percy. She’d gone for the right tactic: to scare him a bit so he would come upstairs. As he checked his schedule, the mood lift Annabeth’s good work had given him, seemed to vanish again. Next thing up was the meeting with Octavian. Ugh.  


Since Percy obviously couldn’t help but call her by her first name, he decided to go with Annabeth instead. He’d only have to take care to not call her that to her face. As he took a sip from the mug, he raised his eyebrows in surprise. The coffee tasted great! Maybe even better than Millie’s coffee and that was one of the sole reasons she had had her job for so long.  


A knock pulled him out of his thoughts. “Come in”, Percy said and Octavian stepped into his room. In his hands, he held his tablet and some papers, probably graphics, predictions, and a form to finally get his Snapchat account.  


“Good morning, sir.”, he snarled and sat down.  


“Have you tried the coffee today?”, Percy asked him and took another gulp before placing the mug next to his screen. “It’s amazing.”  


“After the coffee fiasco from yesterday? No, thanks.”, Octavian said and raised his eyebrows. Percy could read his utter discomfort he always showed when he was around him. He didn’t believe Percy could or should lead the company. And he was after his position, the power it held and the people he then could control. What Octavian did not understand, it wasn’t about control. It was about trusting, pushing, and catching, if someone would fall.  


“Well, you don’t know what you’re missing.”, Percy said and leaned forward. “Show me the tables from last weeks. Some graphics would be nice, too.”  


Although he could barely stand that guy, Octavian Blinder was good at what he did. He had pushed up the public image of the company and raised awareness of their magazine, collected sponsors, and took care of the ads that were channelled. The feedback on company adds and the number of people who’d seen those did go up nearly two percent since last month.  


“Well done”, Percy said and ran a hand through his hair. It always lifted his mood to see that people bought the magazine, that they clicked on the adds or liked pictures of the upcoming articles on Facebook or Instagram.  


“Thank you, sir”, Octavian said and looked very pleased with him, “but I wanted to talk to you about the Snapchat idea.”  


“No Snapchat”, Percy said and shook his head. They’d gone over this at least thrice now. His employee pursed his lips. He was about to tell him – again – how important this platform was and how it would speak to more people on a wider range but Annabeth saved him.  


“Mr Jackson, there is a call for you.”, she said and looked at him urgently. Octavian looked at her, then back at Percy, and seemed baffled that she could interrupt their meeting – as if there was anything more important than his Snapchat idea.  


Percy tried to hide a smile. “Well, I guess we’re done anyways. Thank you for your time, Mr Blinder.” It took Octavian a second to realise that he was being sent away but he stiffly nodded, grabbed his belongings, and left.  


“Who is it?”, Percy asked the second Octavian had left the office but Annabeth shrugged.  


“No one. I just thought you might like him to leave.”  


He must have looked as baffled as Octavian because Annabeth started to giggle. “I am sorry if I overstepped a line again but I saw you two talking and you did not seem happy. Plus, he was here for nearly an hour now. I thought you’d might like him to leave.”  


Still unable to process what had just happened, Percy nodded. “Uhm”, he stammered and tried to wrap his head around her. Why on earth would she… How could she know he was suffering from talking to that guy? What was it with this girl?  


He caught himself again and smiled. “Thanks, Ms Chase.” More and more she started to win him over. Her work, her sense of situations, how she handled the other employees. And then there still was this tension between them. Right now, for example. They both looked at each other and Annabeth clung onto her notebook as if she needed to hold herself back. Percy felt the same energy. He would have loved to stand up, walk over to her, and pull her toward himself and …  


Never mind.  


“So”, he said in a lame attempt to get his brain back to work. A quick look at his watch revealed it was nearly time for lunch. “How does it go with the list?”  


“Uhm…” She still looked him in the eyes and had a hard time pulling her gaze away. Then she looked at the list and nodded. “One task to go. I think I better get going. I want to be back on time with your lunch.” She smiled shyly, turned around, and left his office again.  


He followed her with his eyes until she’d disappeared through the door and probably headed for the elevator. Her last task was to get some bagels for lunch from Frank’s and Hazel’s shop.  


The call to end the employment contract with their last photographer was easy. The call to employ the new photographer was easy, too. Sometimes things went smoothly. Sometimes.  


Percy’s phone buzzed. A text from Frank saying: “She’s gorgeous!!! Sent her back up, Hazel thinks she’s pretty (&) amazing.” Percy smiled and put the phone away. In a few minutes, he’d get something to eat and a little break. Then he’d talk to Rachel about the new paper and whether there are any updates on the next issue.  


The lunch with Annabeth had been pleasant but Percy wasn’t surprised by that anymore. He genuinely enjoyed Annabeth’s presence – and her company. And even better, they could talk about normal things. He had talked about his mother as Annabeth mentioned her and about his teenage sister, about his step dad and his actual dad. Annabeth was a good listener. She nodded and smiled and thanked him in between for buying lunch for her as well. She hadn’t talked about her personal life but Percy could understand. She maybe still was unsure whether she would stay in this position or was hesitant about talking to her boss about her private life.  


For Percy, however, it was not a question. Annabeth would stay. She did good work and he enjoyed having her around. And there still was this tension between them… as if they were drawn towards the other.  


“Mr Jackson?”, Annabeth’s voice called him back into reality. “Your phone”, she said and raised one eyebrow. And she was right. Percy had been so lost in his thoughts, he must have been staring at her – unconsciously of course.  


He reached for the phone and looked at the photo. Rachel Elizabeth Dare smiled brightly from the screen. Her red curls framed her face, the green eyes looked a little bit provoking. He picked up and noticed how Annabeth’s eyebrows wandered up her forehead. “Hey, Rachel”, he said and tried to not look at Annabeth.  


“Hey Perce, would you consider, I don’t know, getting your ass down here? I have a thing or two to talk about with you and they are, well, how to put this? Essential for your magazine?”  


Percy pulled a face. He should have called her sooner. “Yes, I’ll be there any minute, okay? Just let me finish lunch?”  


He could hear Rachel growl and see her before his eyes, the way she rolled her eyes and then sighed: “Alright, but hurry!”  


Staring at the screen going black again, Percy sighed. As he looked at Annabeth, she raised one eyebrow and he just shook his head. “As sorry as I am to interrupt this, I need to go. Rachel needs me in graphics. Please, eat whatever you want and then, finish your list?”  


“I’m already done with that, Mr Jackson.”, she said and narrowed her eyes at him. “The last task was to get your lunch,” after a tiny pause she added, “our lunch.” This was the last task? Whoa. This surprised Percy.  


“Well, then stretch your break a little longer and maybe make some phone calls? Or leave early if you want to.” He smiled at her.  


“But… I thought you’d say…”  


“Yes but today, there’s only this little thing with Rachel left, so go if you want to.”  


He turned around and left the office, leaving a confused Annabeth behind. He was interested in what she would do but for now he needed to concentrate on the last task.  


“There you are!”, Rachel greeted him. Well, she seemed a bit upset about him only coming in now but besides this, everything else was normal. Her hair was a wild, red mess of curls and her green eyes sparkled of creativity and the desire for action. Her jeans were full of sketches, drawn onto it, and her hands were busy knocking a pen on her desk. Behind her there was a big window, facing a park full of trees and bushes, the big pictures showed magazine covers and paintings, graphics, and photographs.  


“I’m sorry I’m late. I brought you coffee.”, he grinned at her and placed a full mug next to half a dozen empty ones. “And I will send someone to collect your mugs, mh?”  


“Don’t you worry”, she said and started to shuffle some papers on her desk, looking for the one he wanted to see. The cover for next month’s edition. “Here”, she finally said. This was one of Percy’s favourite moments: to see the final cover. To see the hard work, he and his employees had done put onto a cover, that would soon wrap it all up.  


“It looks great!”, he said, looking closely at the cover, noticing the details. The covers usually were a mix of a photograph and a drawn scenery, for example a mountain lake and a drawn sky. Or a drawn hut on a green valley. This time, it was a seashore, waves crashing on the beach and a ship drawn on the water. “The colours… You’ve outdone yourself Rachel!”  


She smiled at him and shrugged but her face beamed. “Thanks Percy. But I heard some rumours… About a new paper?” She raised an eyebrow and glared at him.  


“Well, yeah. This is more economic and will do good for the environment. And if we do this clever the prize of the magazine won’t go up and we’re saving the world – at least a little bit.” He looked at her apologetic.  


For a second he thought he would have to fight with Rachel over this now but she sighed and nodded, her arms crossed before her chest. “I will have to do a test print, but it’ll do, somehow.”  


“Thank you, Rachel. Now I might need to tell you about the new photographer…”  


“The new what?”  


As Percy finally got back to his office, it was five. Somehow this happened a lot. He wandered around the company, from office to office, checked with the journalists, the graphics, ended up chatting with Piper about weekend plans, was called down to sign something in Grover’s office and then it suddenly was five.  


“Oh, you’re still here?”  


Annabeth looked up and nodded. She was on the phone and wrote something down. Percy felt a warmth inside him. That she still was here, still worked… It made him proud. A smirk on his face, he went to his office to grab his suitcase and jacket before going back into Annabeth’s office.  


“Shall we get going?”, he asked and winked at her. Annabeth froze for a second but then grabbed her jacket, cheeks pink. They both left the office and made their way through the open plan office and Percy grinned while thinking about their elevator ride. This was something he could get used to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is longer and it was easier to write, but I promise the next one will be somewhat equally long! 
> 
> As usual, if you find any mistakes, let me know!


	3. WEDNESDAY

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took me so long to write the next chapter (a lot has been going on and I traveled half the world since I posted the last chapter) but I added some more known characters and you'll also find some more tension between Percy and Annabeth! Hope you like it, if yes, tell me what you like about it and leave a comment!

When Annabeth entered the office the next morning, Mr Jackson was already there. He looked tired but the look on his face when he saw Annabeth in her dress was priceless. His mouth dropped open and he stared at her for a moment before he shook his head and brought out a little: “Morning”, burying his head in paperwork the second after he said it.  


The sea-blue dress Annabeth had decided on this morning seemed like a better choice, compared to the not-so-professional outfit from yesterday. She felt good wearing it, especially since the white lace applicants at the neckline and the hem made it look a little more prep.  


Brushing her blond hair out of her eyes, she realised a pony tail would probably have been the better choice but too late for that now. She took a deep breath and then went into Mr Jackson’s office to get her tasks for today, if there were any.  


Now that she stood right in front of him, he seemed to be staring even more. His eyes wandered over the hem of her dress all the way up to her face, where they finally settled. His expression was a bit dreamy but went back to being friendly after she said good morning.  


“Good morning, Ms Chase. Having a good one so far?”, he asked and cleared his throat. He had some articles spread out in front of him and was reading.  


Annabeth simply nodded and held up her notepad a little higher. “What’s on for today, sir?” The coffee was already made and there weren’t any left-over tasks from yesterday so if this day should not be taking and re-directing phone calls all day, he would have to give her some tasks.  


“First, I would like you to go to Graphics and pick up some new sketches from Ms Dare, I need them as soon as possible to decide which one will be on the cover for next month. And then…” The pen in his fingers jiggled up and down, revealing how unsettled he was. Annabeth noticed the dark circles under his eyes and frowned. He should work less. “Then it’d be great if you could email Ms McLean and remind her of our meeting this afternoon at my office. I think it was at 3pm.”  


Writing down the time Annabeth nodded. “Sure sir, anything else?”  


He smiled wearily. “No, thanks Ms Chase. This is it for now. It’d be great if you could come back when you’re done and we check whether there are any new things you could do.”  


“Of course, sir.”, Annabeth answered, not able to hold herself from smiling back at him. It didn’t last long but that moment they smiled at each other, Annabeth felt warm and excited. Her stomach twisted and she had to pull away or she’d drown in these eyes.  


The way down to Graphics wasn’t far but, surprisingly, people greeted Annabeth. Word obviously got around that she was working for the boss now and people seemed to feel the need to be nice to her. Leo Valdez, head of IT, waved at her as she passed and Grover Underwood, head of Natural Resources, shot her a shy smile. On the other hand, as soon as she entered an office, people started to whisper and raise their eyebrows, giving her a hard time not to turn around and tell them what she thought of them. When she headed into Graphics her mood was down, nothing left from that smiling-at-each-other-moment back in the office.  


What didn’t lift her mood was that Rachel Dare wasn’t there. A girl with dark skin and a stern but beautiful face sat at the desk, looking over some of the paintings and sketches. She had dark long hair and intriguing, nearly black eyes. She looked at Annabeth with a curious expression and raised an eyebrow.  


“How can I help you?”, she asked and leaned closer, carefully not touching any of the artwork.  


“I’m looking for Miss Dare?”, Annabeth said and pulled her notepad closer towards her chest.  


“She’s out getting some new art supplies but I might be able to help you?  


“And you are…?”  


“Oh”, said the girl and put on a tiny smile. “Reyna. Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano.”  


She said it really fast and probably hoped to catch Annabeth on the wrong foot but she only smiled dryly. Not today. Not with her. “Good Ms Ramírez-Arellano, do you know when she’ll be back?”  


A small wrinkle appeared between her eyebrows but then she noticed Annabeth’s smile and shook her head. “No, I don’t. And I’m sorry. But I’ll wait here anyways so I can tell her whatever it is you need to let her know. There are no secrets between us.”  


Something in her voice made Annabeth listen more attentively. The way Reyna said the last sentence, the way she brushed a strand of her hair behind her ear, the quick look on the ground and the back up… Alright.  


“So, you’re really close?”, Annabeth asked and Reyna’s eyes widened. But before she could answer she continued: “And her artwork is incredibly good, right? The colours and how it speaks for itself…” Annabeth let her fingertips slide over one of the copies of Rachel’s pictures and Reyna looked lost for words. She nodded, and… did she blush? Aw, that was just cute!  


“Anyways”, Annabeth then said, pretending nothing had happened, “I’d like to pick up the latest sketches for Mr Jackson. Maybe Ms Dare prepared them somewhere?”  


Reyna, still with slightly pink cheeks, nodded, looked around, and then grabbed a pack of pictures. “I think those would be the ones you’re looking for.”  


“Thank you, Ms Ramírez-Arellano, please tell Ms Dare I took them.”, Annabeth said and gave Reyna a warm smile and this time the young woman nodded and smiled back shyly.  


On her way upstairs, she was confronted with some more whispering and even one finger-pointer which made the little mood-improvement she had had with Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano vanish in seconds. She was so upset about this person daring to be so rude that she clutched the notepad and ripped one of the pages in half accidentally. She did nothing to deserve this treatment! She did her job well and worked hard for Mr Jackson who she-  


_Wait._  


Mr Jackson was not the reason, right?  


_Right?_  


No one would have noticed whatever was between the two of them, would they? Annabeth bid her lower lip and her thoughts went crazy. Would people have noticed that there was something between them? Was there something between them? Other than that she felt good when she was close to him? That his smile made her smile, too? Annabeth’s stomach warmed up by the thought alone…  


She stopped, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath to calm herself down. As she opened her eyes again she saw that she was standing next to the Customer Service office. Good thing, then she could talk to Piper right now. It might distract her. Entering the office, she looked around but couldn’t find anyone familiar. Piper was not on her desk and a few others were empty, too. There was one man, though, who was on the phone, talking and typing on his laptop.  


“And are you happier now, Marge?”, he said as Annabeth came closer. He had blue eyes and blond hair with slight curls in it. On his desk, Annabeth could see a bowl full of fruit and a smoothie, probably with açaí berries and other super healthy stuff. He sat on a gymnastic ball and looked up as Annabeth approached his desk. With a quick hand gesture, he made clear it wouldn’t be long until he’d be done.  


“Good, I’m glad you’re happier now… mhh-hmm. Yup, all noted down. Uh-huh. And the subscription, I’ll extend it by next year, July? Good. And about your foot, Marge”, he now sounded very concerned, “put some ice on it and if the ointment I recommended won’t work, see a doctor, will you? Good, very good. Then have a lovely day, yes. You too! Goodbye.”  


He clicked a button on his headset and smiled up at Annabeth. “How can I help you?”, he asked. Annabeth thought about saying something about this call but then she decided against it – by now she had accepted that everyone in this company had their little quirks. She smiled at him and couldn’t help but notice how healthy he looked. His teeth were straight and shiny, his skin looked clear and his hair did look great, too. Maybe she could get him to tell her his secret some time soon.  


“I’m looking for Ms McLean?”  


“Ah”, he said and his smile faded, being replaced by a face that clearly said ‘sorry’. “She’s not here and won’t be back until 11. I’m sorry. Is there something I can do for you?”  


Annabeth sighed. This was getting better and better today. “Well, who are you? Will you be here when she’s back?”  


“Oh, sorry. My name is Will Solace, nice to meet you.”, he said and now the smile was back on. It shone like the sun itself. He stretched out his hand and Annabeth shook it. “I will be here when she returns so I could deliver a message if you’d like me to.”  


“Yeah, that’d be good.”, Annabeth said, trying not to sound too disappointed. Will seemed nice. “Could you please remind her of the meeting this afternoon with Mr Jackson?”  


Will Solace nodded and wrote it down on a little note pad, sun-shaped. “Yup, will do. Anything else?”  


Annabeth shook her head and Will smiled at her. “Then you go and have a good day.”  


She thought about Will as she made her way up to her office and the warmth he radiated. She liked the place she worked at more and more, although it bothered her that nothing did go as planned today. Today was an up and down of emotions. When she entered her office, she couldn’t see Mr Jackson so she let herself fall on her chair and leaned back. “I should have gotten myself some coffee…”, she groaned and rubbed her eyes.  


“Oh, get me one too, will you please?”, a voice asked from Mr Jackson’s office.  


Annabeth frowned and looked into his office again. No one was there.  


“Mr Jackson?”, she asked and got back on her feet.  


“Yup, right here”, she heard his voice say. She walked into the office and suddenly saw him. He lay on the ground on a carpet and stretched his arms out over his head. He gazed up to her and smiled, his hair fell in his eyes and he turned around so that he would lay on his stomach now.  


“What can I do for you?”, he asked casually.  


“I just came…”, she started but then realised how silly it was to talk to him like that so she got down on her bottom, sitting casually next to him. This job was something… “I just came back from Graphics and Ms Dare wasn’t there but Ms Ramírez-Arellano. She gave me the sketches, here you go.” She carefully placed them next to his head. “Oh, and afterwards I went to Customer Service and Ms McLean wasn’t there either but Mr Solace will remind her and I’ll send her an email myself again.” Annabeth hesitated. “Uhm, sir?”  


“Yeah?”, he raised an eyebrow and studied her face, still without any attempt to get back on his feet. Still, he looked ridiculously good. Supporting himself on his forearms now made his biceps flex and Annabeth admired the shape of his arms for a second too long before him clearing his throat made her come back to reality again.  


“Are you okay?”, she now asked hesitantly and watched him carefully.  


He laughed and it sounded fuller and he actually rolled to his side and then got back up in a sitting position, crossing his legs. “Yeah, don’t worry. I’m good, it’s just my back, you know? I feel like I was run over by a truck this morning. It’ll be fine, I’m sure.”  


Annabeth nodded but bit her lip. “Anything I can do now? New tasks?”, she asked and held her notepad close to her chest.  


“No, I don’t think so. Sorry, but taking calls it is for now. But I’ll let you know the second I’ve got something to do for you. But,” he hesitated, “a coffee would be really great.”  


Nodding Annabeth turned on her heel and left Mr Jackson’s office. She let herself fall on her chair and her eyes flickered across her STAY HYDRATED note. Shoot, she forgot again. She reached for her water bottle and unscrewed the cap, taking a huge sip. Putting the bottle away she leaned back and closed her eyes for a second. The day had been wearing her down. Maybe a coffee for her would be a good idea, too?  


She glanced over at the kitchen area. Since it was around lunch time it was crowded. People would actually fight over the microwave and the boiled water for cup noodles. She sighed and turned on her chair to face the windows instead of her office. Coffee… coffee… Where could she get some coffee?  


Right! Annabeth grabbed her purse and shot a last look at her boss’s office. He was laying down again so she thought it would be a good thing to get going now and be back as quickly as possible. On her way down she wrote an email to Piper, remembering her of the meeting. The coffee shop was full, so she got in line and checked some more emails. As she finally stepped in front of the counter, the tall Chinese man stood there, smiling at her.  


“What can I get you?”, he asked with a smile on his face. Annabeth looked around, looking for the girl and found her in the back of the shop, smiling at her. These people had been very nice to her the first time she’d been here, too. And, as his sign revealed, Frank seemed happier with his job than any other barista Annabeth had met in NYC ever.  


“Two large coffees, please. One with sugar and the other one with milk.”, she said and he nodded, turning around to get going. His girlfriend, at least that’s what Annabeth thought she was, came out of the back and wiped her hands on her apron. Hazel. She’d introduced herself to Annabeth when she came in the first time which Annabeth thought was really nice, but really unusual, too.  


“Would you like to take some donuts with you, too? They’re fresh, I just made them!” She pointed at some donuts with blue icing. Annabeth raised an eyebrow but Hazel smiled so brightly that she nodded.  


“Yeah, blue is something special, why not?”, she said and smiled back at her.  


“He’ll love them”, Hazel said, picking two up and put them in a bag the moment Frank placed the two cups of coffee on the counter. “There you go”, he said with a nod and Annabeth thanked both and payed, then placing some money in their tip jar.  


As she stood in the elevator, surrounded by the smell of coffee, and feeling the warmth of the donuts through the bag, she reasoned whether Mr Jackson knew these people or not. They’ve been so nice with her and first time he sent her down he asked her specifically to go to this coffee shop… She would maybe ask him later. As she got back into her office, she could see Mr Jackson sitting in his chair again, talking to someone on the phone. As Annabeth wanted to turn around and sit down he shook his head and waved at her, inviting her in and gestured towards the chair in front of his desk.  


“Yes, mom, I’ll come around, yeah. Tell her I love her. I got some work to do, okay? And tell Paul that I’ll call him back, will ya? Thanks, love you too!” He hung up and grinned at Annabeth, rubbing his neck with his hand. “Do I smell coffee?”  


“Yes, sir,” she said and placed a cup and the bag with the donuts on his desk, careful not to ruin any important papers. “And donuts.”  


Mr Jackson looked as excited as a five-year-old on Christmas as he got the donuts out of the paper bag and placed them on his desk. “Blue icing is my favourite!”, he said and his smile nearly didn’t fit on his face. “Thank you so much!”  


As he leaned forward to grab the donut, Annabeth noticed his painful expression and it touched something in her. She didn’t want to see him in so much pain, so she cleared her throat. “Sir”, she began and looked up. Their eyes met and for a second Annabeth forgot what she wanted to say. These green eyes caught her every time. “Maybe…”, she started slowly and blinked to catch her breath. “Maybe you should do some yoga. Or going for a walk, a swim? The water would probably do your back good.”  


The word water had her boss jolting upright. He raised one eyebrow and looked at her. His whole position changed and his scepticism turned into a smile. “Uh-huh”, he made and leaned back in his chair, the cup of coffee in one hand. “Sounds very well-thought through and responsible. Thanks for the suggestion.” He paused for a second and suddenly Annabeth could see something in his eyes that unsettled her a bit. “But… just swimming can be a bit boring if you’re all by yourself.”  


Did he just… ? _What???_ For a second Annabeth forgot how to talk, how to breath. All she could remember was how to stare at her boss. Mr Jackson though hesitated. He seemed like he was thinking about his next words carefully but the second they were out, Annabeth knew this could not have been the case.  


“Care to join me?”  


She didn’t mishear, did she? What was going on her? Very subtly she pinched herself in the soft skin right above her knee. Nope, she was definitely awake. Slowly Mr Jackson’s confidence flickered. His cheeks flushed pink and he rubbed his neck with one of his hands. Annabeth could only guess but she could not look much better; her cheeks probably were fire-brigade red from how much they were burning.  


“Pardon?”  


That was all she could stutter and there was it again. Annabeth felt a weird pull in her stomach. If he would repeat his question maybe she’d have the guts to agr- _no_. This was her job. This man was her boss. No matter how high the forces of attraction were between them was, she would not risk her job because a man in power was making eyes at her.  


“Don’t worry, never mind. Do you have any suggestions for a swimming pool?”, Mr Jackson asked and in that second the telephone on her desk saved her life. It rang and Annabeth, still holding on to her cup of coffee, shrugged helpless, got up, and turned around to leave the office as fast as she could.  


The rest of the day was hell. Whenever she would glance over at Mr Jackson’s office he was busy, sometimes stretching his muscles, walking around a phone in hands or talking to someone, sometimes looking out of the window. She forgot the donut in there and when the call that had saved her finally ended her coffee was cold. This day was getting better and better. And her thoughts… if she could only control her thoughts!  


They were full of images of her boss in swim shorts, them swimming together, and a lot more inappropriate things. Concentrating on tasks was out of question. Annabeth also did something what she’d never done before, in no other job. She counted the minutes until she finally – officially – could leave. “Goodbye Mr Jackson”, was all she told him, quickly and without looking him directly in the eye, before she stormed off and left the office.  


The moment her head popped out of the water and fresh air filled her lungs she felt all right again for the first time since Mr Jackson had asked her to come swimming with him. Although her cheeks were burning at the thought of this situation, she now was sure it had been a mistake, nothing serious. Just… a joke. While thinking this she reached the end of the lane and hold onto the border as her eyes caught familiar ones. Green ones. Annabeth nearly choked on the water as she realised that there, right in front of her, Percy Jackson said, legs in water and only dressed in swimming shorts. Her jaw dropped open and her boss suddenly seemed to realise who was there right in front of him, too. His expression was puzzled at first but a few seconds afterwards a big smile decorated his face.  


“Fancy seeing you here, Ms Chase”, he said and laughed. “It’s like we’re, mh, kind of… drawn towards the other, mh?”, he noticed and chuckled.  


“Y-yes sir”, Annabeth answered flatly. Of all the pools in New York City he chose that one? Really? It was unbelievable. Her head started to do calculate the probability but before she could finish he started talking again and she got distracted.  


“Isn’t the world a tiny place?”, he asked now as if he’d read her thoughts.  


“Just what I was thinking, sir.”, she answered and Mr Jackson frowned.  


Mr Jackson frowned. “This isn’t work, Annabeth.” Wow. Did he just call her by her first name? It was silly and girlish but Annabeth wanted him to say her name again. She wanted him to call her by her name. “There is no need to call me sir or Mr Jackson.”, he smiled. “I’m Percy”, with that he stretched out his hand and smiled warmly at Annabeth, waiting for her to shake his hand.  


The second their hands touched each other both experienced a similar feeling. A short blow of electricity ran through their hands and their eyes locked again, a bit breathless they watched the other. Annabeth still couldn’t believe this was really happening. She could feel his warmth and his dark hair hung messily in his eyes. She did not dare to let her gaze wander any further down… By the Gods, she had to. His figure was, as expected, muscular but not unduly. He had defined muscles and they only added to his athletic figure. As she dared to look back up in his face again she could see that he was watching her, an amused smile on his face and one eyebrow raised.  


“So, si- eh, Percy, how is your back?”, she asked hastily, pulling her hand back in the water, and, to avoid any further inconveniences, she fixed her gaze on his eyes. His green eyes, as green as the deep ocean and… no. What did he just say? Annabeth slightly shook her head.  


“… so I’m really feeling better. Thanks. I haven’t been swimming for ages. I nearly forgot how good it feels to be in the water.”, he said and glided into the water right next to her. He pushed himself off the back wall and swam, head underwater, a few feet away only to pop back up in the middle of the now nearly empty pool. What time was it? She had no idea, must have been late.  


Mr Ja- Percy leaned back and floated on his back for a while, eyes closed. Why would anyone in the universe punish her so much? The tension she felt in her stomach only grew but she couldn’t look away from these arms, this stomach, and… Dear Gods, no. She shook her head and as she dared to look back at him, Annabeth realised his eyes weren’t closed anymore. He was watching her with a wolfish grin.  


“Like what you see?”, he asked her but before she had a chance of actually answering that question he let himself sink like a stone, dived, and popped up right in front of her. Close. Very close. These green eyes were so confusing. He smiled and then dived again, rolling backwards underwater. It didn’t seem like he was made to walk the earth but rather to swim. His movements were effortless, strong, and perfect in form and style.  


“Yeah, your skills are pretty impressive.”, Annabeth answered as he popped up again. “Have you done swimming as a sport before?”  


That was obviously not the answer he’d expected and Annabeth chuckled over his perplexed expression. “Well, no”, he stammered. “But thanks, I guess.”  


Boosted with confidence over seeing that not only he could catch her unprepared Annabeth splashed a bit of water into his face. “Welcome”, she said and smiled at him. “Want to race to the other side?” And before he could say yes, Annabeth dived and missed the sparks in his eyes, the excitement, and the genuine smile of Percy. But he wasn’t slow in going after her. Although she had a head start he caught up to her pretty quick. The problem: Annabeth had nearly reached the end of the lane. Suddenly she felt a hand on her ankle pulling. Just before she could touch the border she was disturbed and pulled back, water rushing into her mouth and nose. Snorting she came back up and her head broke through the surface.  


“What the-? You cheated!”, she cried and whisked the water out of her eyes. Her boss grinned at her triumphantly.  


“There were no rules, right?”, he asked and shrugged. But Annabeth would not let him get away with that. Since she was at the shallow end of the pool, her feet touched the ground. She stepped closer to him and splashed some more water into his face.  


“Cheater”, she said and his dazzled expression made her laugh. He looked at her for two seconds before he started his counterattack. Soon this evolved into a full water fight. Annabeth was laughing and trying to escape the waves Percy would sent in her direction but he seemed to move lighter in the water, had a better grip on the ground, and the water seemed to not hold him back from moving as much as her. Both were soon shouting insults at the other and laughing in between or every time they got hit by a wave, pulled underwater or ended up being plunged under the surface. Although Percy had an easier time moving around the water, Annabeth could guess most of his attacks before he even made them and escape them before the water hit her. The fact that this man was actually her boss had slipped Annabeth’s mind and only came back the second he won the water fight.  


To finally stop her from outsmarting him, Percy had wrapped his arms around Annabeth’s middle, pressing her close to his chest. Both were breathing heavily and Annabeth tried to escape his strong arms, laughing, and trying to regain control over the situation.  


Then it hit her.  


This was her boss. Percy Jackson held her. Close. Very close. To his muscly chest. In his strong arms. His breath stroked over her shoulders, sending a shiver down her neck and spine. She suddenly was very aware of the fact that only the thin layer of her red bathing suit hindered their skin from actually touching. Did someone turn the heat on? Was the water that hot all the time?  


Annabeth could feel Percy loosening his grip but he didn’t let her go. His hands now lay casually on her wait and – did he push her? He turned her around, slightly pushing and pulling, and suddenly she had to face him. His expression was hard to read and Annabeth wondered what he was thinking. His eyes and hers locked and for a moment Annabeth forgot about him being her boss. For a moment, there were only these green eyes, his smile, and his dark, wet hair. What would she give to just let her hand glide through his hair, touch his cheek, stroke over them and…  


Water splashed over them. A kid had cannonballed into the water, right next to where they stood. Instinctively Annabeth had closed her eyes. As she opened them again, Percy had stepped back from her. He looked… ashamed? Seeing him looking at her like this made her stomach ache in pain.  


Laying in bed this evening, Annabeth had a hard time falling asleep, not knowing what to think of this. Or what to feel.


	4. THURSDAY

Waking up the next morning felt… well, surreal. Percy opened his eyes and blinked twice before he sat up. Weirdly, he didn’t feel tired. His back felt better, no pain, no weird noises as he sat up. He yawned, stretched, and got up to take a shower. The day was overcast and maybe a bit windy but it didn’t bother Percy at all. He was in the best mood.  


“Good morning”, he called as he entered Frank and Hazel’s coffee shop an hour later. One man, standing at the counter, who looked grumpy and tired, turned around to see who disturbed his moodiness. He seemed displeased with Percy being all cheerful and took his coffee from Frank without a thank you and then left the shop. Not even this could wipe the smile off Percy’s face.  


“How are we this morning, Frank?”, he asked and leaned on the counter. Hazel’s head popped out of the kitchen. As soon as she spotted Percy, a smile spread out across her face.  


“Thought this would be you! Why so cheerful?”, she said and raised an eyebrow. Coming out of the kitchen and standing next to Frank she shot Percy a puzzled look, who only shrugged.  


“Dunno, must be the weather.”, he exclaimed, bouncing on his feet. “Could I please have two coffees?”  


“Dude, it’s cloudy and cold?”, Frank exclaimed as he turned around to make the coffee. Hazel crossed her arms before her chest.  


“Percy?”, she drawled and he just shrugged again.  


“Can’t a man have a good day and enjoy weather and life?”, he said and grinned at them as they both looked at him bewildered before they shot each other a look.  


“Not when it’s like 59 degrees outside. There must be something else. Or…”, Frank suddenly looked up and faced Percy. “Someone.”  


At this statement Hazel’s mouth dropped open and she turned to Percy, looking at him with a curious expression. Percy though rubbed his neck before crossing his arms before his chest, examining his shoes. “I have no idea what you mean Frank.”, he said and nodded, as to make his point clear. But Hazel shook her head grinning.  


“You don’t get off the hook that easy, Jackson. Tell us, what happened?”  


“Nothing!”, Percy defended himself and Frank raised an eyebrow.  


“I doubt you’re being honest with us right now. This... this is really disappointing, isn’t it Hazel?”  


“Uh-huh, totally. I can’t believe he really is lying to us. Us. His friends. We, who always provide him with coffee and sugary baked goods and…” Percy could hear fake sobbing as Hazel buried her face in her hands.  


“I know, right? To be let down like that… It just hurts, you know?”, Frank said, pulling Hazel in a hug, and his voice broke with his last words. Percy, who had watched the two go on with that for the time it took Frank to finally make the coffee rolled his eyes. This was even more torture than what he would have to endure if he just told them…  


“Fine”, he said and suddenly couldn’t help but smile. Frank and Hazel turned their full attention on Percy and Hazel even bounced up and down a bit on her feet. “Alright”, he started and told them about his encounter with Annabeth at the pool yesterday. He talked about how he went there after being advised by her, how he met her there accidentally, how she looked in her swim suit, and what an incredible tease she was. He told them about their water fight, about the feeling of holding her in his arms and that special desire to be close to her, like he was drawn towards her. How she now, finally, had managed to take up all his thoughts and how excited he was to finally see her again today.  


The second he finished Hazel let out a loud “Aww”. A new customer had come into the shop and Frank absent-mindedly fixed him a coffee and had nearly forgotten to cash up. He grinned as he looked at Percy again after the man had left. He didn’t need to say anything. This gesture alone made Percy understand how Frank felt about all that.  


Hazel bounced up and down. “It’s been _forever_ since I’ve seen you this happy because of a girl! I mean…”, she grinned and grabbed a brown bag. “I’m so happy for you Percy, really.” She grabbed two donuts and put them in the bag. “Honestly. I hope she feels the same.” In two muffins went. “You’re such a wonderful person.” She grabbed two bread rolls with raisins and placed them in the bag as well. “And it would be wonderful to see you happy with a girl you obviously have such a big crush on.” Frank’s hands carefully took the loaf of bread out of her hands that she was about to chuck in the bag as well. He also handed the bag over to Percy, along with the cups of coffee, to prevent Hazel from giving away even more food.  


“I’m glad you’re happy.”, he said while Hazel still chirped how happy she was for Percy. He nodded, thankful for Frank and his wonderful girlfriend, his friends, who always supported him.  


As he made his way up in the building and towards his office, Percy couldn’t help but smile at his employees. His head felt light and the smell of coffee and sweets made his morning even better. Standing in the elevator and noticing the woman running towards it, he quickly stretched his leg to hold the doors open. Piper got in eventually and the doors closed with a pleasing ‘ping’.  


“Wonderful morning, isn’t it?”, he said and grinned at her. Piper stared back at him, raising a perfect eyebrow, and examining him closely.  


“You’re obviously not sick but something is off with you.”, she stated without paying attention to his words. “Did you get laid?”  


“What?”, Percy said shocked. What the...? She chuckled and shrugged, still eyeing him curiously. “Pipes, come on!”  


“Good, then you’re just really happy. Because of… a special someone?” Short pause. Percy tried really hard, but he couldn’t hide it. He beamed with happiness. Her interrogation tactic had worked. “I suspect it’s… Annabeth.”  


Alone mentioning her name made Percy’s heart beat a little faster. He knew that it would not be of any use to lie to Piper. She always knew. For as long as he knew her she could always predict people’s crushes and relationships. It was like a God given gift. Or Goddess?  


“Aw Percy”, she now said and grinned genuinely a him, all her coolness gone. “I’m so happy for you?!” But before they could get any deeper into conversation the ‘ping’ came again and the doors slid open. Piper shrugged and held her thumb and her pinkie on her ear, winking at him before she turned around to walk to her desk. Percy could just spot the bright blond curls of Will Solace before the doors closed again. Wait – did he see a black head of hair there too? Did that mean…  


Never mind. Percy shook his head, trying to focus on better things again. Cause if he was here this could only mean…  


But before he could finish this thought the doors slid open again and he found himself facing his secretary’s office. Facing Annabeth. Today she wore a black pencil skirt and a white bow blouse, her hair tied up in a messy bun. Golden earrings hung from her ears and Percy could see that they were tiny anchors.  


Afterwards he didn’t know how it had happened but he knew that somehow his bag ended up on the floor. He must have dropped it. Accidentally, of course? He was deeply convinced he didn’t drop it on purpose but seeing Annabeth… he’d just been thrown off by her presence for a second. She looked up and smiled at him and automatically his lips twitched. He just couldn’t help but smile.  


“Good morning Annabeth”, he said and she smiled at him and stopped typing. She was probably typing an email or updating meetings. The smell from his breakfast seemed to grab her attention. Her grey eyes scanned the bag and then she looked back at Percy.  


“Good morning, sir. I hope you’re well?”, she asked and he nodded awkwardly. His right hand automatically rushed to rub his neck but since he was holding the paper bag with baked goods and two coffees in it, it hit his face. Annabeth unsuccessfully tried to hide a giggle and then cleared her throat, trying to cover it up. Percy would have loved to be able to just disappear at this very moment, but since he couldn’t he just shrugged and held the paper bag up.  


“Would you… if you don’t mind, of course, like to have breakfast with me, Annabeth?”, he asked and a smile spread out across her face. In that moment, he noticed that he was still referring to her as Annabeth, first name base. But to be honest, he didn’t mind. Not one bit. And she obviously didn’t either.  


“Sure!”, she said and got up, pushing her chair in his office and sitting down across from him while Percy put down his shoulder bag. The coffee smelled wonderful and filled the air in his office with its sweet scent. If one would blend out the fact that they were in an office, it nearly was like having a comfortable breakfast at home or in a café.  


Percy looked up and watched Annabeth pull her cup closer to her. The early morning sun made her hair shine as if it was made from gold. He suddenly felt the urge to pull her close in an embrace, to touch her hair, to feel her soft skin again and to kiss her. But the way she looked at him now, as if she was challenging him to do something, made him want to justify himself for this invitation.  


“My friend who works where I got all this was a bit overly enthusiastic today…”, he said and pulled out the muffins, the donuts, and the bread rolls. “She clearly misunderstood what I wanted and so I thought sharing would be a good idea.”, he tried to explain but Annabeth looked amused.  


“How considerate of you.”, she said and they both reached for the same donut. Their fingers touched accidentally and a second later their eyes met. Percy got lost in Annabeth’s grey eyes, as opaque as fog. The electricity that ran from his finger up through his arm and in his chest and stomach made Percy breath in sharply. It didn’t surprise him that he reacted to her; he’d noticed that before. But the intensity took him by surprise. Annabeth must have felt it, too. She withdrew her hand and blushed.  


“Sorry”, she mumbled, but Percy shook his head, smiling at her, feeling warmth rising to his cheeks. “Please, I should have offered you the first choice anyways.” First, she seemed hesitant but then she smiled and reached out for the donut. Percy smiled and leaned back in his chair, sipping his coffee. It was suddenly very quiet in the room. Just as he thought he should say something Annabeth cleared her throat.  


“How is your back? Better?”  


Glad to have the chance to jump on this bandwagon, Percy nodded. “Yeah, much better! I actually feel quite good. My sister will be delighted when I tell her I’ll be able to have piggy back rides with her again.” He smiled. Alone thinking of Cassie made him happy.  


“You have a sister?”, Annabeth asked and leaned closer, now grabbing her coffee and taking a sip. Percy’s smile only got wider.  


“Yes. Her name is Cassandra, she should now be nine, turning ten in May.”, he said and wondered where the last years had gone. Ten, good Gods… “My mom and her new husband had her a few years after they got married.”  


“That sounds lovely”, Annabeth said and Percy nodded.  


“It is. They are both wonderful people and Cassie is the most adorable kid you’ve ever met, I promise. She can be really cheeky but at least I know where she got this from.”, he said and winked at Annabeth. She laughed, covering her mouth with her hand. “How about you? Do you have siblings?”, he now asked, watching her carefully.  


“I have younger twin brothers. My dad and his new wife… well, you know that story, I guess.”, she smiled and Percy nodded.  


“How old are they?”, he asked.  


“They’re 18 now. They’re nightmares, sometimes, but I love them.”, she said smiling.  


They talked about their families and Annabeth revealed that she had hated her step-mom for quite a while but now really liked her and Percy could talk about his former step-dad Gabe, who he still thought was the greatest idiot that ever walked the earth. They soon got off topic and noticed that they both liked camping and staying in nature. Annabeth told him about trips with her dad around in Europe, seeing for example ancient Greek temples. He told her how he would go on weekend trips with his parents and his sister, down by the Long Island Sound and, overly enthusiastic invited her to come along some time. After that there was an awkward silence in which both just sipped their coffee, glancing at the other and smiling shyly.  


As the silence was nearly unbearable, the phone on Annabeth’s desk rang. Both their heads turned towards it. No one said a word but as the ring finally died, they both sighed relieved.  


“I should probably get some work done, shouldn’t I?”, Annabeth asked but didn’t seem too eager to truly start. Percy frowned. He didn’t want her to go.  


“Well, you haven’t finished your coffee.”, he said slowly and Annabeth shook her head. It must be cold by now, but what did that matter? “So…”, Percy started slowly and looked at her. “Get your chair and stay here until you finished it, mh?” His suggestion made her smile and she nodded, got up, and came back half a minute later, her laptop in her hands.  


They continued to chat for a while and Percy found out that Annabeth’s job at his company was intrinsically to gain work experience and her former internships were not payed enough to enable her to keep her life running smoothly. She didn’t mention that she was over-qualified to be a ‘simple’ secretary but Percy knew. He had read her resumé. And still he was glad she was here.  


After a call he had to take, Percy and Annabeth continued to work in silence, glancing and smiling at each other every now and then. And although they didn’t talk for most of the morning, Percy felt comfortable. Very comfortable. He couldn’t remember when he had felt good with just sitting next to someone without saying a word, just feeling their presence. But with Annabeth everything seemed different…  


They worked hand in hand and Percy slowly realised the advantages of having his secretary right next to him. Although she had to get up a few times to hand him certain documents and papers it was convenient to have her close. She would read over his letters or show him emails she pre-wrote for him and they worked out a way to make them either sound either more or even less formal, more intimidating, or more charming, whichever was needed. Their work continued to go on for quite a while until Percy’s stomach rumbled and both of them looked up confused before realising that Percy’s body was protesting and demanded food.  


“Should we order a pizza?”, Percy asked cheerfully and looked at Annabeth, who nodded. He’d forgotten the time, hadn’t realised how it had passed and that he was still in his office at all. Annabeth made things run smoothly.  


“I’d go for one with seafood, what would you like?”, he asked, dialling the number already. She looked at him for a second, an intense look with a question in her eyes, but then she caught herself and with a small smirk answered: “Extra spicy, please.”  


Percy’s cheeks were still slightly burning as the pizza arrived half an hour later. The way she had looked at him back then… He’d surely not say no to something spicy, but on the other hand, Annabeth seemed way too good, way too precious for something like… _that_.  


“Looks good, doesn’t it?”, she asked and opened the box. The smell of pizza filled the office and Percy could feel his mouth start to water. Although his breakfast had been quite good, he really needed this pizza now.  


“Absolutely. And please, don’t hold back. Cause I know I won’t.”, he said and grabbed the first piece of pizza. It didn’t take him a minute until it was gone. Annabeth hadn’t even started her pizza when he reached for the second piece. She just stared at him, a slight grin on her face. “What?”, he asked, suddenly sounding insecure. He didn’t feel like he had to hold back in front of her. After all, it felt like she was with him, well, as, with him in the company of course, since forever. And not just since Monday. But now he feared he should have maybe showed some more manners. His mom would probably be fairly disappointed in him.  


But after another second that felt like forever, Annabeth shrugged and grabbed a piece of pizza as well. They sat next to each other, happily munching their pizza. Their happiness didn’t last very long, though.  


After roughly ten minutes a knock on the door interrupted Percy’s story of how he and Grover went camping last summer. Percy looked up and froze. Well, he indeed had seen him then earlier.  


Nico di Angelo stood in his door, wearing dark jeans and a black shirt, over it his bomber jacket. His dark mob of hair fell in his eyes and he looked incredibly pale. His dark eyes met Percy’s green with an intensity that killed the cheery atmosphere that had filled the room earlier within seconds. Annabeth looked from Percy to the door and then back, standing up abruptly.  


“Excuse me if I’m interrupting something here”, he said and took a deep breath, looking at Annabeth before looking back at Percy, “but I need to speak with you. In private.” His eyes flickered back to Annabeth for a second but then he looked at Percy again. He nodded and turned towards Annabeth with a sigh.  


“Could you please put this in the fridge? And Mr di Angelo, would you like something to drink?”, he asked and handed her the pizza boxes, but Nico shook his head. Annabeth got up, nodded, and took the pizza out of his office with her.  


“How can I help you, Nico?”, Percy asked and gestured for him to sit down opposite of him. Nico looked even gloomier than usual. The dark shadows under his eyes made him look tired and even paler than Percy had first anticipated. He looked like he could use a good 30 hours of sleep, which was his usual appearance. He worked alone, with printing presses surrounding him. There was no one he had to impress, it was a rather lonely job. Percy had rarely ever seen him smile or even laugh. The only one who could make him look slightly at peace was Will Solace. That’s where Percy had seen him this morning.  


“I’m afraid you can’t.”, Nico said and sighed. Oh no. Here it came… “The printing press broke down. Your magazines for next month…”  


“Which starts next week”, Percy interrupted him, tone slightly tense, and Nico nodded, looking even more hurt.  


“Most of your magazines got lost in the crash. It will take me at least two days to get them out of there, getting the machines fixed and running again another two. Even if I ask for help, it won’t be before Tuesday.” The look on his face told Percy how serious he was and that he’d thought through every other option already. There were a dozen things Percy wanted to ask him but he knew it was pointless. Nico was a thorough thinker. If he couldn’t find another solution, it was very likely there wasn’t one.  


For a moment, it was silent in the room. The clock ticked on his desk and Percy’s head raced to find a way to fix this. He would have to call other printing agencies. He would have to get customer service to ring up people that their delivery would be late. He would need marketing to come up with a way of apologising to the customers. He would need to pull Leo out of IT to get him to help Nico. He would need to contact Grover and ask him to redistribute the new paper to the other companies he’d have to find first. Which printing companies wouldn’t be on deadline right now? The chances of getting a spot with one of them were close to zero. There were a lot of things to do. His head felt already as if it would explode soon.  


“Percy?”, he heard a voice and looked up. His fingers were impatiently drumming on the table, he clenched the pen he held in his hand. Nico di Angelo still sat in front of him.  


“Oh, sorry. Yes… I… okay. Give me a second.” Percy took a deep breath and wrote down what he’d thought about. Then he looked back up at Nico and tried to smile. It took all his strength to not stand up and scream at Nico but remain calm. When he heard himself speak he was a bit irritated by the pressed sound of his own voice. You could practically hear how he supressed his anger. “Would you… No, wait. Annabeth?”, he called and a few seconds later she stood in his door.  


“Would you ring IT and send Mr Valdez up here? And cancel all appointments for today.” With a nod and an odd expression, she turned around and left. His mind was still racing and he could feel the frustration and anger rise inside him.  


“You didn’t even say thank you, Percy.”, Nico remarked and Percy closed his eyes.  


“Oh no”, he said in gruff voice, “I forgot to be nice while my company could face serious troubles, maybe even huge losses, resulting in me not being able to pay my employers? Oh, how _rude_ of me.” His voice had grown louder and suddenly he realised his fists were clenched. “I’m sorry, Nico”, he hissed, “but right now I have something else to worry about.”  


Nico simply nodded and stayed silent. As Leo finally arrived in his office, he explained to him what had happened and Nico and Leo left. Percy grabbed the phone immediately and dialled a few numbers. The rest of the day flew by with phone calls, heated discussions on the phone, having Annabeth call people in his office, more phone calls, and an immensely dissatisfied CEO.  


When Annabeth popped her head in, asking him if he wanted a coffee he was in the middle of a phone call with the printing agency Nico worked at. “Not _now_ , can’t you see I’m busy fixing this mess?”, he growled and Annabeth took a deep breath, nodded and retreated. Percy had no time to feel sorry, all he felt was stressed and anxious.  


Weirdly enough, he did not realise how late it got until his stomach growled and demanded food again. This made Percy look up from figures he had in front of him. He was still worrying how to get enough copies of the magazine out to all his customers and whether his insurance would cover any losses.  


The sky outside his windows was pitch-black. The clock showed it was nine forty-two. He swallowed hard and rose from his seat. His back was aching. He should have gone home hours ago. From the corner of his eye he noticed a light outside his office. Oh shit.  


Annabeth sat at her desk, an empty bottle of water next to her, typing an email. She raised her head as he pulled the glass door shut behind him. “Y-your still here?”, he asked surprised. She looked awefully tired.  


“Of course, sir.”, she answered. Percy frowned and it actually took him a few seconds to determine what was wrong. She’d called him _sir_. “Remember how you told me that I would sometimes have to work longer?”  


He swallowed and nodded. “Well, let’s call it a day, shall we?”, he said with a weak smile. To his surprise, he didn’t get a smile back. Annabeth nodded, shut her laptop, and grabbed her bag. Then she turned off the lamp and left the office. She didn’t talk and left Percy immensely confused.  


“What a day, mh?”, he tried again as they walked towards the elevator. It seemed to take ages until it finally reached their floor, the doors opening with a little ‘ping’. Annabeth avoided to look at him, simply nodded, clutched her bag closer to her chest, and got into the elevator first.  


“I hope your day was a bit better than mine.”, Percy mumbled and as she just shrugged, he couldn’t help but sigh. For a second he hesitated, but then decided to go for it. “What is wrong, Annabeth?”, he asked her and tried to turn her around on her shoulder, but she pulled herself away, stepping aside. She finally looked up and in her eyes, he could see tears glistening. This day was just getting better and better.  


“Annabeth…”, he said in a husky voice but she just shook her head.  


“Leave it, okay? It’s fine, I get it. I’m your secretary. I should not take it personal when you talk in a demanding voice to me. I should not get upset when you don’t say please or thank you. I should not be angry when you talk to me like you did all day. It’s all right.” She took a deep breath and blinked heavily to make her tears disappear. Percy, completely lost for words, found himself watching her utterly confused for at least four floors. She really was _upset_ with him.  


“Listen, Annabeth”, he started again and this time she looked at him. Percy suddenly preferred the version in which she didn’t. It did not make it any easier to talk when she looked at him like that. She was, apparently, a very proud person – that he would never forget anymore.  


“I am sorry. I should have been nicer to you today. I was just very upset myself. I should have…” But in this moment the doors opened with a ‘ping’ and Annabeth shook her head.  


“It is alright, _sir_ , I shouldn’t expect anything else. This is how a proper boss-secretary-relationship should be.” With these words she stormed off, leaving him standing in the elevator, following her with his gaze until the closing doors reminded him that he would have to get out of it eventually.  


An hour later he sat in a booth in the corner of a pub and waited for his brother. Well, half-brother. Same dad, different moms. But for Percy that did not make a difference. Tyson was and would always be his brother. Even if he, just as he did right then, spread his arms out for a big hug as soon as he’d spotted Percy. “Brother!”, he called out and made his way through the people shooting him weird looks and suspicious glares.  


“Tyson, hey, goo-”, Percy started, but he didn’t get any further. Tyson had pulled him into a rip crushing hug. Just for a second he hesitated before he hugged him back. “It’s good to see you man.”, he said and Tyson grinned at him as he sat down. His brown hair stood away from his head and his brown eyes scanned Percy.  


“It’s good to see you, brother.”, he said and leaned forward. “I’ve got something really cool I got to tell you!” He beamed at Percy. One could see from five meters away how happy he was. And what was he doing? Smiling weakly. Great job, big brother… But that was what he loved about his brother. Although he could be thoughtful at times, his main emotion was happiness. That paired with his ability to see the best in every situation made him the perfect little brother. His rate to cheer Percy up whenever was 100%. But when Tyson started with the words: “I’ve met this girl”, Percy forgot his troubles for a while, sitting up straight, and listening to his little brother telling him everything about a girl called Ella with beautiful red hair and a passion for books.  


“…and I think I’ll see her again on Saturday.”, he finished and Percy, looking at him with pride and excitement, leaned forward and patted him on his shoulder.  


“I’m so proud of you Tyson?! That sounds wonderful! I hope everything goes well. I’m…”, he was still grinning at his brother when he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest and the picture of Annabeth, tears in her eyes and explaining that she knew how a proper boss-secretary-relationship should look like flickered in front of his inner eye.  


“Percy?”, Tyson asked and suddenly he seemed concerned. He scanned his brother worriedly and Percy shook his head, shrugging.  


“I think I’ve got something I need to tell you as well, but it won’t be as much fun to listen to as your story was.” He smiled weakly but the encouraging look in Tyson’s eyes made him talk. He told him about Annabeth and how he was drawn towards her, like she was a magnet. He told him that he found working with her easy but she made it hard for him to concentrate at the same time. Tyson grinned as he told him about the accidental pool date and how they stayed with first names afterwards. A warm smile spread out on his face as he spoke about this morning, but then he got to the point where Nico came in. Tyson’s face adjusted to his story the more Percy talked about it, mentioning sending away her when she'd asked about the coffee, too. As he finally reached the end of it, his brother ran a hand through his hair, looking deeply concerned.  


“Well”, he simply said after a few seconds of silence and Percy raised an eyebrow. “I think there’s only one thing you can really do.” He paused. “Tell her. Tell her how she makes you feel. You should not push people out of your life if they’re really important to you… I mean, it’s always better to share your sorrows than to force people away from you over them.”

Percy looked at his brother for a while. Just as he wanted to answer, Tyson said a sentence that stuck with Percy for the rest of the evening and the whole night.

“If people want to leave, they will anyways, so no need to push them away on purpose brother.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was the hardest to write yet and I hope it captured the confusion and the feelings of Annabeth and Percy properly! 
> 
> Tell me what you liked about it and what you didn't, if you find a mistake let me know!  
> ♥


	5. FRIDAY

The next morning it was incredibly hard for Annabeth to leave her bed. The blinds were pulled down and she had put her alarm on snooze three times already. She did not want to go to work. She did not want to see Percy. She did not want to face the consequences of her emotional outburst.  


Usually, things like this never happened to her. Usually, she always was the reserved one, the one who kept her thoughts to herself, unless they contributed to something wise. Something that blossomed, not… _that_.  


Percy was her boss! Her boss, that she had only met on Monday. Four days ago. Getting involved in a person normally took her longer. But with Percy it was weird. He was… different? Their dynamics were unlike anything she’d ever experienced before. She just couldn’t keep herself from thinking about him, from looking at him whenever they were together, from thinking back to their accidental pool date…  


But all that seemed so far away already. Had it been two days ago? Well, she at least enjoyed it as long as it lasted. Stressing herself a bit more, she got under the shower and afterwards dressed. Mirroring her thoughts, her clothes ended up being a black long sleeve and dark jeans. Today was not a day to dress up.  


Arriving roughly on time, she clung to her bag all the way up the elevator. Thinking about several things she could say to Percy when she would actually face him, she did not realise that the elevator had already reached its destination. ‘Good morning, sir’ - would that be too formal? Would it stress the _Sir_ -thing again? What would happen if he’d started to talk first? Would he address it? Would he address her at all?  


Blinking twice Annabeth realised that the doors were about to close again and she quickly slid out and in the hall. Avoiding looking at Percy’s office she let herself fall in her chair and opening her laptop. Or, wanting to open her laptop. There was a little note on it, next to a full water bottle that hadn’t been there the day before. Someone must have bought it and placed it there for her to find. The note said:  


≫ Dear Annabeth,  


I’m sorry for what happened yesterday. I know a fancy breakfast won’t make it any better but I wanted to do you some good since I won’t be here all day to make up for it personally. I’ll be away for a meeting with the printing company.  


I’m sorry I couldn’t apologise in person yet, but I will as soon as we see each other. Have a good day,  


Percy ≪  


Blinking and trying to process what just happened, she looked at her desk closer. A little basket with a cloth over it stood next to her laptop. She cautiously lifted it and a wonderful smell emerged from it. She saw croissants, slices of fresh bread, a tiny jar of jam, a tiny jar of Nutella, a little bottle of orange juice, a to-go cup of coffee, an apple, and a banana. Still not knowing what to think of all this, she put the cloth down again. Annabeth pushed the basket away, eyeing it suspiciously. But before she could make up her mind about it, someone knocked on her door.  


“Sorry, dear, but is Mr Jackson here?”, a voice asked and Annabeth forced her head up to look at the person that just spoke to her. Piper McLean stood there, wearing jeans and a loosely cut shirt, her hair hanging on her shoulders and her smile – just perfect. Effortlessly beautiful.  


“No, sorry”, Annabeth said flatly and shook her head. Piper’s eyebrows wandered up her forehead.  


“Are you all right?”, she wanted to know, now coming closer and sitting down opposite of Annabeth. Her eyes flickered to the basket, the note, and then back to Annabeth.  


“Of course, yeah. I’m goo- hey!” Before Annabeth could finish her sentence, Piper had grabbed the note and read it. Reaching for it, Annabeth tried to snatch it back, but without success.  


“I’ve known Percy for so long now”, Piper finally said and placed the note back on Annabeth’s desk, “but that’s a first. What happened?”, she asked, now sounding honestly concerned.  


Annabeth liked Piper. She had liked her from the start. Also, her words echoed in her head: “…so if you’ll ever need someone, let me know. I bet I can help you.” Pondering on the thought of telling her for a second longer, she also noticed how worried Piper seemed. And that made her tell her everything.  


“Something between Percy and me. It… it was weird from the start. Not bad weird, just… unusual. There was this attraction between us from the first day and it got only worse when we actually started to work closer together. He challenged me with ‘hard’ tasks, nothing I couldn’t handle of course, and I worried over his back, because I came in once having him lying on the floor. I recommended him to try swimming for it might help and we accidentally met, that evening, in the pool and had a good time there. We got along so well. Nearly… too well.” Annabeth sighed and glanced up to look at Piper, who smiled vaguely.  


“It was great not having to worry about the work-relationship that evening, because it seemed like we knew each other forever, which was weird, but it was even weirder going back to work the next day. We had fun, we worked together… and then something happened.” Annabeth took a deep breath before she continued. Piper leaned forward a bit, listening attentively. “We are having issues with the printing press since yesterday. It broke down and that’s probably why you came to see Percy this morning… Customer service has a lot to do today.”  


Piper nodded but then made a gesture for her to continue.  


“I’ve tried to help him where I could. I wanted to bring him coffee, I’ve tried to talk to him, but all he did was shouting at me. He sent me away, completely furious and I… I stayed because that’s what we agreed on, on my first day here – that I sometimes would have to work late, with him. He had obviously calmed down after a few hours and was surprised to find me still working, but I was hurt. I couldn’t help but being upset and after I nearly cried in the elevator, I ran away.”  


Hearing her story being told aloud made it sound even sillier. To be upset because she was being treated like a secretary. To be upset because she was doing your job. Silly. Absolutely foolish.  


“Oh Annabeth”, Piper said and as she looked up, she could see real concern and compassion on the young woman’s face. “This is not bad at all. Just a little, mhh… complicated.” She reached out and placed her hand on Annabeth’s shoulder, slightly pressing it. “He is, unfortunately, your boss and the company is very important to him. He’s built it all by himself. But apparently, you’re very important to him as well. I would advise you not to think too hard about it and talk openly about what you think and feel with him when he comes back.”  


Annabeth took a deep breath and nodded.  


“He seems to care about you”, Piper added and gestured towards the basket. “I haven’t seen him taking action like this towards a girl in a long time.” She paused for a second and then smiled warmly at Annabeth. “It will all be fine. I’m sure of it. And now…”, she said while pulling the cloth aside, “we’re having a good breakfast. I bet Will can handle it down there for another twenty minutes. Or so.”  


For a split-second Annabeth wanted to send her away, tell her that she had work to do and so had Piper but then she decided against it. Comforting chatting and a friend were exactly what she could need right now. She shared her food with Piper and they talked about a variety of things, from how wonderful these croissants were over to Piper’s boyfriend Jason, then the good and the bad sides of dating a CEO, here Piper was very eager on making Annabeth aware of some things because it was her deepest conviction that she soon would have to deal with these things as well, to the company itself and how glad she was to have a job there.  


After half an hour Annabeth’s phone rang and an only slightly distressed Will Solace asked her if she’d seen Piper. She sent her down and thanked her about three times for comforting her.  


The morning passed quickly. She took calls, redirected them to the concerning offices, made coffee, and told people that Mr Jackson wasn’t there whenever someone came in to ask about him. The problem was that with every person who walked into her office, demanding to speak to Percy, her mood dropped significantly. After approximately hundred people, she was as miserable as she had been before Piper had come to cheer her up. She felt lonely, angry, and confused and wanted this day to end. To go home and cuddle up with a book in her bed, to escape into another world and forget your own problems – that’s what she longed for right now.  


But life rarely ever gives you what you want. And sometimes, it’s even worse. Then you get an annoyed Octavian Blender coming into your office when you were about to start your lunch break.  


“Miss, eh, Chase?”, he said as he pushed open the door. Knocking seemed to be a foreign word to him. Without waiting to be called in, he stepped inside and Annabeth put down her sandwich. She cleared her throat and tried a smile.  


“Mr Blender, what can I do for you?”, she asked, trying hard to sound cheerful.  


“I want to speak to Mr Jackson but he seems to be absent.” He wrinkled his nose, the dissatisfaction clearly visible on his face. He leaned forward in his seat. “When will he be back? I have some new ideas concerning our company joining more social media platforms like Snapchat.”  


“Mr Blinder”, Annabeth said, trying to stay polite, “he’s away. He won’t be available until tomorrow.”  


“Ms Chase…”, he began, one eyebrow raised at her, “I understand that you are not supposed to give out intelligence about when or how I can reach him but you have to understand that this is of utmost importance. I could get a very good deal with an advertisement company if we sign today and-”  


“He won’t be here all day, Mr Blinder.”, she said, now more annoyed than ever. How could he imply she was lying about Percy’s absence? What should she be covering for anyways? What shady things did he think Percy was up to?  


He dropped his creepy smile and frowned at her. “I doubt you understand how much influence I have in this company, Ms Chase… You should reconsider how you act towards me. Now, when will he be back? Because instead of you, I have a real and especially an important position in this company. So, tell me what I want to know… _now_.”  


Annabeth raised her one eyebrow at him and leaned back in her chair. While he had been talking he’d moved closer to Annabeth than she had ever allowed him to do. His face was angry and his eyes flickering. She cleared her throat and casually stood up.  


“If you think, Mr Blender, that threatening me, at any point, will help you achieve your goals, you’re deadly wrong. I would consider my behaviour if I were you, because in contrast to you, I do know what Mr Jackson thinks of you and your clever ideas on the expansion of our social media presence. So, shut your mouth, start acting politely and don’t you dare threatening me like this ever again or you will have to face serious consequences to your actions, _are we clear_?” The last words came out as a hiss and she stemmed her hands on the table. Her anger was about to take away the rest of her self-control and she was sure she would have hit him, if he didn’t do what he then did.  


Octavian backed away, his expression switching between bewilderment and anger, his hands clenched to fists. He couldn’t speak but he shot her the angriest look he apparently was capable of and slammed the door shut behind him.  


Annabeth fell back in her seat and closed her eyes. Her appetite was gone. Well, thank you Octavian. Growling she got to her feet and went to make another can of coffee for her colleagues. Unfortunately, this was the last thing she could think of to do. Restless she looked around in the office, searching for something she could do and eventually decided that there was nothing left. Because she needed a distraction, a different thing to stare at than Percy’s empty office, she then took her sandwich and left her office, deciding to spend her break in the coffee shop Percy had sent her to on Tuesday.  


Everything was like she remembered it. The atmosphere was comfortable and as she got her coffee from the tall and strong looking Asian guy, she thanked him and put her change in the tip jar before choosing a seat in a corner. It was a quiet lunch, she didn’t even take out her phone to check social media because Annabeth was still angry. How could this Octavian guy be so rude? So blatantly annoying? So… _ugh_!  


A bit too hard Annabeth set down the mug and accidentally missed the table. The cup landed on the floor and broke into a hundred pieces.  


“Oh shit”, Annabeth mumbled and got to her knees, trying to pick the shards out of the puddle of hot coffee. Well, if that wasn’t the highlight of her day? Going to nice places and destroying their equipment? Wonderful, just…  


“Here, let me help you.”, said a voice suddenly and big hands softly pushed hers away. The guy from the counter sat down next to her, picking up all the pieces of the mug. His name tag said Frank.  


“I’m so sorry, it was an accident. I didn’t mean to destroy your dishes. Really, I-”  


“It’s alright, really.”, he said and to her surprise he was smiling when he looked at her. Suddenly there was another pair of hands taking care of the coffee puddle and Annabeth recognised the girl that was responsible for all the sweet baked goods. Her name tag said Hazel.  


“T-thank you”, Annabeth stammered and heaved herself back on her chair.  


“It happens more than one would expect.”, the girl named Hazel chuckled.  


“What do I owe you for the mug?”, Annabeth asked her, pulling out her purse but Frank shook his head.  


“Nothing. Don’t you worry about it.”  


“Well, this might then be the only thing I don’t have to worry about today.”, The words slipped out of her mouth before she could hold them back and her voice sounded. Colder than she had meant it to be.  


“Didn’t you like our breakfast?”, Hazel asked and Annabeth blinked twice.  


“Sorry, what?”, she asked and Hazel got to her feet while Frank carried the shards away.  


“Our breakfast. Percy picked it up super early this morning and I thought it must have been for you. He’s been talking about you for a while now, isn’t he Frank?”  


An approving humming came from Frank who had to turn his attention towards a new customer now. Annabeth still could see him shooting a look at Hazel every now and then, checking on her, seeing whether she was okay. He must really like her, thought Annabeth before remembering that she was in the middle of a conversation.  


“So…”, Hazel slowly pulled her out of her thoughts, “was anything wrong with the breakfast?”  


“What? No!”, Annabeth assured the girl, “it was wonderful! Your croissants are a blessing, don’t even get me started on the coffee.” While she said that she looked in Frank’s direction. Although he didn’t answer he smiled at her warmly and she knew he’d taken the compliment.  


“What’s it then?”, Hazel asked, before she gasped. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude. I understand if you don’t want to talk about it, after all”, she mused, “we don’t really know each other.” A little awkward pause arose before Hazel got back to her feet. “Although I think, from what Percy had told us, you’re really likeable. I hope you have a good day, Annabeth.”, Hazel said, turning around and making her way to the kitchen again. Annabeth stared after her. She knew her name. That young girl, running a coffee shop and bakery with her boyfriend knew her name and was kind to her. Caring, even.  


What did Percy tell them about her?  


Before Hazel disappeared back into the kitchen area, she whispered something in Frank’s ear and then waved Annabeth before she left. When Annabeth got up to leave, still confused, Frank stepped around the corner, carrying a to go cup in his hand. “For your way back and to maybe lift your mood a little.”, he said with a goofy smile. The cup smelled like hot chocolate. Annabeth took it and, not being able to properly thank him because she was so speechless, she smiled at him. He simply nodded and held her the door open. Confused but a bit happier she made her way back to the office.  


Of course her lunch break had been longer than half an hour but no one would mind today. Her boss wasn’t around and when Annabeth walked back into her office, the empty cup in her hand, she shot a look over to Percy’s desk and found it still empty. Her heart ached for a second and she let herself fall on her chair, sighing.  


It took her a while until she’d figured out why she was still feeling down. She missed him. This was pathetic but Annabeth rather had him there, not talking to her or being mad at her for her behaviour from yesterday than dwelling on thoughts and what if’s. Would he have addressed it? Would he have apologised in person? Would they be able to talk about it? All these questions roamed in her head and she couldn’t concentrate on one of them. Everything would have been better than sitting in her office, by herself, and wondering all day long.  


She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t notice the knock. She only looked up as the person cleared their throat to make her notice them. Annabeth’s grey eyes met green eyes and for a second she thought it might have been Percy’s. This thought only lasted a second before she realised that a redhead stood in the door, wearing jeans with splashes of paint on them and a brush behind her ear.  


“Excuse me, I knocked but you didn’t seem to hear me.”  


“Sorry, I was….”, Annabeth gestured towards her computer. “If you’re looking for Mr Jackson, he won’t be here the whole day.”, she said, trying to predict why the woman was here. But she shook her head.  


“No, I actually wanted to talk to you, Ms Chase.”, she said and smiled. “My name is Rachel Dare, I work down in-”  


“Graphics”, Annabeth finished her sentence and Rachel Dare smiled.  


“Exactly.”  


“How can I help you?”, she asked her and pointed towards one of the chairs in front of her desk. Rachel sat down and smiled at her.  


“I know how stressed Per- eh, Mr Jackson is at the moment and I thought you and I could get a bit work off his shoulders.” Now Annabeth listened carefully. She sat straight up and eyed the redhead curiously. “We need new paper and there usually are two ways to get this done. Either I order it online and then need his signature to make it company-business. This is the way we usually do it, cause it’s nearly effortless. But, you see, without the proper paper I can’t work anyways so I thought I could go and buy it myself, from my money. This is the second way. I buy it and give you the receipt. With that you will be able to access the company account and transfer the money to my bank account.”  


Annabeth looked at her and blinked twice. She knew about the transferring system but acting without Percy’s permission felt weird. Rachel continued: “I know it must feel a bit odd, like betraying Percy in a way”, she noticed that Rachel didn’t try to call him Mr Jackson this time and Annabeth wondered how well Percy got along with nearly all of his employees, “but it will spare him a lot of red tape and will make the company run a bit more smoothly, even without him being here.”  


“I only need your permission, in a way.”, she said and smiled at Annabeth, who seriously started to consider it. She could sit her and redirect phone calls, answering emails, and excusing her boss all day - or she could contribute to a running company. She nodded.  


“Of course, Ms Dare. That sounds like a great idea and I will happily do my part to help you.”  


Rachel smiled at her and got back to her feet. “I will be back in an hour or so. Thank you for helping me.”  


“No, thank you for taking the initiative.”  


The redhead smiled at the blond girl and left the office then. Annabeth felt better. This would be a way to help Percy, to keep the company out of even more trouble, to do her part, even with Percy being absent.  


Hours later, she still sat over the receipts and had a look at the company’s books and the bills as Rachel and Piper stopped by her office to say goodbye.  


“Do you want to come with us? We’re going to get some drinks to celebrate one day of running this company without our boss.”, Piper said overenthusiastically and grinned at Annabeth, but she shook her head. Although her back ached she’d just gotten into the books and started to understand Percy’s business concept.  


“Aw, come on, Annabeth, it’ll be fun.”, Piper said again and Rachel nodded.  


“We’ve got some other people coming, too. Will, Leo, Reyna…” Did Annabeth imagine it or did Rachel blush as she said that name?  


“You guys go and have a good time, really. Thanks though.”, Annabeth said with a warm smile and the girls, after lingering for a few more seconds, decided to let her do the work.  


Scanning the books, she nearly spent two hours, understanding transaction processes and the categories in which people were paid, where money was spent and where cuts were justified. Although, if someone had asked her, she would have few ideas on how to make things more efficient and spend the money wiser, also how investments could make even more profit.  


A noise disturbed her concentration and she looked up – and nearly jumped off her chair. Good Gods, he’d scared her! There, in the door, in dark jeans and a nice white shirt, Percy stood, looking at her. The office was dark around them, only her lamp and the laptop giving off light into the otherwise dusky room.  


She stared at him and he looked at her. The lack of light made it hard for her to figure out his mimics. Just as he stepped into the light she noticed how exhausted he looked. Dark circles under his eyes showed his lack of sleep, his eyes looked dull and, if he noticed it or not was unknown, but he frowned a little, even though there wasn’t anything to frown upon – yet.  


“Annabeth?”, he said and it sounded like a question. Annabeth’s eyes flickered to the clock on her laptop and she sighed. It was nearly nine o’clock. “What are you still doing here?” His voice was soft but sounded tired.  


“I- I was just…” She started but then shut the laptop. “Checking the company’s books.”  


“We have accountants for that, Annabeth.”, he said after a short silence.  


“I know. It was just…” She looked at her fingers, feeling a little helpless. But as Percy sat down on the chair in front of her desk, she looked up. He was smiling at her. This encouraged her to tell him about Rachel’s suggestion and that she decided to help her and how she wanted to do it for the good of the company and how she got caught up in the books and was just trying to understand it a bit better. As she finished, Percy still smiled. He looked… was that pride on his face?  


“Very well”, he said and nodded, “but I still think it’s time for you to go home now. Enjoy your Friday night and the weekend.”  


Although he must have thought it was in her best interest, Annabeth couldn’t believe he would send her away like this. Alone him sitting in front of her made her stomach twist and she wasn’t sure if it was excitement to finally see him or fear of this unsolved fight from yesterday. It felt like the fight stood between them, invisible but yet nearly tangible.  


She sat there and couldn’t do anything until she finally convinced her body to play it cool. She nodded and got to her feet. “Might be a good idea. You shouldn’t stay much longer yourself.”, she said, hesitating before she added, “You look horrible. Did… did it go well?”  


Percy sighed and leaned back in the chair, his back cracked silently and Annabeth frowned. “It went all right. Things will be okay again next week. With minimal losses. Nico and I did well today.” He rubbed his eyes and managed to smile at her. In her chest a warm sensation spread out and she wished nothing more than to reach out, to stroke his chest, hug him, to kiss him, tell him to finally rest, but she held back, took a deep breath, and nodded. “I’m glad to hear that. Well, then, goodnight.”  


Grabbing her bag, a huge lump in her throat, she turned to leave, feeling weirdly torn between happiness for Percy’s success and an empty feeling for him not addressing what had happened. But addressing it herself… no. She could not bring up the courage. Her anxiety to face it battled her will to hide this problem forever and never speak of it again, to continue just as if nothing’s happened.  


“Annabeth?”  


His voice was soft and as she turned around to face him. He stood opposite of her, his hand in his neck, rubbing it. “I am sorry for what happened yesterday. Hazel sent me a text, you got the basket I guess?” Without giving her the chance to answer, he continued, avoiding looking her directly in the eyes. “I should not have shouted at you. I know you only wanted to help. I just couldn’t focus properly, there was a lot at stake.”  


Now he finally looked her in the eye and Annabeth saw that he was genuine about his words. She saw regret and sadness and maybe a bit of hope? And of course, she understood. His whole company could have faced serious problems if this had gone wrong. All he ever worked for. And still it didn’t excuse his reaction, a little voice called in the back of her head. Annabeth nodded, trying to hide the warmth and the light-headedness Percy’s words caused in her.  


“I understand. I accept your apology.”, she said and finally smiled at him. Her smile, though feeling too big for her face, showed up on his as well.  


“God I’m relieved about this…”, Percy mumbled and ran his fingers through his hair. “I felt awful today, thinking about this all the time. But good”, he awkwardly swung his arms back and forth, stepping from one foot to the other. “Right…”, he mumbled and Annabeth smiled at seeing him so uncomfortable. She could relate, though. How should they act now? What would happen from now on?  


“Well, then, goodnight, Annabeth.”, Percy said and they locked eyes. His eyes seemed darker and Annabeth could barely see, but he stepped closer to her, so close, she could smell him. A light smell of… was it salt? And printing ink. Definitely ink. Before she could make up her mind about it, he had kissed her on the cheek, his lips only softly brushing her skin. “Sweet dreams.”, he whispered before leaving her standing in her office, frozen in motion and utterly confused. Confused, yes, but with a warmth inside her chest that made her way home like walking on clouds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a bit shorter and for me feels like I let down the characters a bit, please give me feedback on how you liked it!


	6. SATURDAY

Mrs O’Leary had joyfully wagged her tail as he’d picked her up from Tyson’s.

“Thanks for looking after my girl yesterday. I didn’t mean to have you looking after her until today but I couldn’t pick her up anymore. I was just… too tired.”

His little brother nodded with an understanding smile. He was still in his pyjamas, but Percy couldn’t sleep anymore. Or rather, he barely slept at all. Annabeth had been in his head all night. He was sure it was not enough to apologize for his behaviour to get her breakfast and to what? Give up on his self-control and kiss her on the cheek? Well, actually, he’d been very much in control of himself.

If he hadn’t been, he’d kissed her properly. He had kissed her and with that had given in. But kissing his own secretary… someone he would have to work alongside with for… how long for?

“No problem, Percy”, Tyson said and pulled him out of his thoughts with that. Percy blinked twice and smiled at him. Mrs O’Leary pulled on the lead.

“We better get going now. I’ll catch up with you later.”, he said and waved his brother as he turned around to walk his dog. Not really concentrating on where he was going, but rather lost in thought, he wasn’t surprised to find himself in Central Park ten minutes later. Mrs O’Leary knew where she wanted to go. He smiled at the pitch-black French bulldog and turned right, choosing a wooded path.

He still couldn’t shake the feeling that had spread out in him after he had kissed Annabeth. The desire to kiss her properly, to pull her in his arms, to hug her, to hold her… Gods, there was so much more that he wanted to do. Unfortunately, he must have lost his mind. Kissing her, what a bold move!

When he’d called Jason on his way home, he congratulated him.

“I mean, this is a good first step, Percy.”, he could hear Jason again, saying this on the phone, “You had to make a move on her anyways. You’re crazy about her.”

He could hear Piper saying something in the background and Jason then added: “Yeah right, so, how did it feel?”

“It felt… like it was not enough. Don’t get me wrong, Jason, it felt good, it felt like this was the way it’s supposed to be, but it also felt like I should have done more.”

“Yeah, I get that”, Jason had answered thoughtfully and Piper had then snatched the phone from him. “She was miserable the whole day because she was so worried. Your fight kept her on the edge all day.”

“Wow, thanks, Pipes. You really know how to cheer someone up.”

“Don’t be silly Jackson! That only shows how she feels about you. You’re really important to her Percy.”

Then again static, a few noises he couldn’t identify and then it was Jason again.

“It will all be fine, Percy. You have the weekend to let things settle down and then you can see how you two do on Monday morning.”

Percy sighed deeply. Alone the thought of not seeing her for another two days was making him uncomfortable, but maybe Jason was right.

“And don’t forget about tomorrow night. We’re going to the bar on 6th, the one we’ve been to for Piper’s birthday last month.”

He had simply nodded and then the call had ended. He had gone home and hadn’t properly slept. Now he pulled himself back into reality. He didn’t really want to go out tonight. Not with his thoughts still pondering over Annabeth. He was already imagining them having dates and ending up living together, his head creating images of breakfasts in bed, as cosy as the one in the office had been. He could see him holding her, having pillow fights with her, all these couple things that he’d wanted ever since his mom married Paul. Ever since he saw how a healthy relationship could look like.

Maybe a bit of dancing, drinking, just the company of his friends, would cheer him up, get his thoughts away from this wishful thinking and dreams that were unlikely to become true. Mrs O’Leary barked and he focused.

Somehow, he had ended up in front of one of the lakes in the park. At this early hour, the people he could see either walked their dogs as well or did some sort of sport: yoga, jogging, etc. Name it and you could find it here. His dog, however, now barked at a frog that made his way from the dewy grass into the pond. Percy pulled on the lead, trying to get Mrs O’Leary away from the pond and that poor frog. He took two steps back from the lake and promptly someone ran into him. He felt a body hit his and then he stumbled, Mrs O’Leary now barking loudly, and ended up on his bottom. The jogger must not have noticed him, maybe being as deep in their thoughts as him, but had now stopped.

As Percy looked up to them, the sun blinded him, but he could make out a blond ponytail and… oh no.

“Oh my Gods I’m so sorry”, his secretary said and bent down to help him up. But as soon as she realised who he was, she froze in action. “Percy?”, she asked and raised an eyebrow, her mouth still hanging slightly open in surprise.

“Yeah, fancy seeing you here, too.”, he answered. The shock lasted for another few seconds before both of them fully realised the situation. Annabeth shook her head and grabbed his hand, pulling him back to his feet. Now they stood there, facing each other awkwardly.

“I’m really sorry.”, Annabeth said after a few more seconds of nearly unbearable silence. “I was just a bit lost in thought and didn’t mind where I was going.”

“It’s alright. I tried to save a frog from Mrs O’Leary and didn’t look where I was going either.” He shrugged but Annabeth’s attention had turned to his dog, her grey eyes widening in excitement.

“Is she yours?”, she asked and got down to her knees. Mrs O’Leary had stopped barking, at the frog and at Annabeth for running over her owner, and now curiously turned to face Annabeth, sniffing at the hand she offered the dog. The little bulldogs’ tail wagged in anticipation and she shyly licked her hand a few times before jumping up on Annabeth, putting her paws on her knees and trying to lick her face.

Percy’s first reaction was to try and pull her back, but Annabeth’s laughter made him stop mid-action. The blond woman’s laugh made his heart grow a bit wider.

“I think she likes me, don’t you?”, Annabeth said and rose again, brushing off a bit of dirt off her clothes. Mrs O’Leary still wagged her tail, so hard that half her bottom followed the movement.

“Oh, she’s absolutely in love with you. I think you could call it love at… fir-first sight.” While he said that, Percy’s gaze had wandered from his dog back up to Annabeth and it was suddenly a lot harder to finish his sentence. Annabeth held his gaze and a tiny smile crept onto her lips.

“You still look terrible, Percy.”, she said and Percy noticed how her skin seemed to glisten. Of course, it was sweat from her morning run, but to him she looked perfect. Her cheeks were in a light pink and her face was framed by tiny ringlets and strands of hair that had gotten out of the pony tail and her eyes sparkled. She looked like a Goddess. A jogging one, though.

“Oh, thank you.”, he laughed and rubbed his neck. “Usually people are appealed by my looks but hey, I can’t win every heart, can I?”

“I-I”, Annabeth started and looked away for a second, “I meant you look as if you didn’t sleep for another night.”

“Well, that might be true. Yup.”, he answered, his arms awkwardly swinging on his sides. Annabeth’s expression softened.

“What happened?”, she asked after a few seconds in which Percy desperately tried to switch the topic of their conversation. But in his head there only seemed to be enough room for Annabeth and her glistening face, the sun behind her making her look as if her blond hair glowed, like some sort of halo. Maybe not a Goddess but an Angel? At least too good to be true.

“Oh, you know, the usual. Overthinking.” He shrugged and buried his hands in his pockets, trying to stop himself from swinging them around as if he was an orangutan. “No big deal.”

Although Annabeth looked like she wanted to say something, this time Percy was faster.

“But I should rest throughout the day. Tonight, I’m invited to a party Jason and Piper are throwing in a bar. I don’t even know why. They… just seem to do these things regularly.”

“Oh, okay.”, Annabeth answered and Percy quickly added: “You wouldn’t like to come there with me, would you?”

The surprise in Annabeth’s eyes was priceless. After all, he was a bit surprised about himself as well. Asking her out just like this… Didn’t he just agree on Jason’s point of view? That it would be better to let things settle for a while?

Percy smiled at her and all she could do was stare at him. But when he had seen her cuddling Mrs O’Leary he had made a decision. To _hell_ with it! He liked this girl, this wonderful woman. He wanted to spend time with her, around work, yes, but also outside of it. He wanted to get to know her, have fun in the same weightless way they had when they met in the pool. He wanted her. He wanted Annabeth Chase to be his. Screw what the others at work would think, screw the whispers and rumours.

As he spent the day away from her, Percy’s thoughts were unfocused all the time. Nico was scolding him constantly and had to call him to order more than once.

“Okay, what is it?”, he remembered him asking as they were waiting for an appointment with the company owner. “Is it that girl that distracts you this much?”

Caught, he nodded. Nico sighed. “Heterosexuality is a riddle to me.”, he said and shook his head. “Okay, if you like her, go for it. How hard is that?”

“But she’s my secretary!”

“So what? I met Will when I wanted to complain about your company and he ended up fixing my neck ache. These things happen, Percy, you can’t control who you love. Or how you meet the people you end up falling in love with.” He looked ready for Percy to fight him on that statement but he just nodded, thankful for Nico’s advice.

Now she still stood there, looking at him, utterly surprised.

“If you don’t want to come, Annabeth, just say it.”, he said lightly, actually hoping she wouldn’t say that. She blinked twice and focused on him again.

“Uhm, right… right now I don’t know, to be honest.”, she said and took a deep breath. A little disappointed, Percy nodded. “But I might be there?”, she then added and Percy’s heart seemed to jump.

“It’s just something small. Hazel and Frank will also be there, Leo, Will, Nico, and Grover. So, not too many people.”, he said trying to sound casual. “I will text you the place and time and then, if you feel like it, just show up, should be no problem.”

A smile spread out over Annabeth’s face and Percy couldn’t help but smile back. Mrs O’Leary though, didn’t feel like sitting around any longer. She started whining and pulling on the lead. “Oh, sorry love, I’ll be right there.”, he addressed his dog and Annabeth giggled.

“I’ll hopefully see you tonight.”, he said, winked at her, and turned around before she could say any more.

Walking away, his dog leading the way, he seemed to bounce instead of walking. This was a wonderful turn in this rather tiring day. Annabeth might come tonight. One thing more to look forward to. He didn’t blame her for not giving him a straight answer, though. It took him some time as well to make up his mind on the whole thing. If she’d be there tonight, wonderful. If not, he’d try his luck again on Monday.

After his walk with the dog, Percy collapsed onto his bed, still a smile on his lips whenever he thought about the upcoming evening, and fell asleep immediately.

Which he later discovered hadn’t been the best idea. Two nights of not sleeping took their tribute and as he awoke, it was nearly time to get going for the party. Rushing into the shower and getting his clothes out of the cupboard rather randomly, he ended up in front of the mirror, hair still damp, raising an eyebrow on his choice of clothes. Black jeans, all right, two different socks, that was still bearable, but the shirt he’d picked out in a hurry was a light pink one with anchors on it. Will might have looked great in it, but Percy could only grin about himself in it. He instead went for a dark blue button-down shirt and rolled up the sleeves.

When he arrived at the bar, his jacket in hand, everyone else was already there. Frank and Hazel sat in a booth with Will and Nico, Jason just got a round of beers for everyone and Piper was chatting with Juniper, Grover’s girlfriend. Percy’s eyes scanned the whole room, but she wasn’t here.

“Looking for someone?”, a familiar voice said and Percy turned his head. Rachel grinned at him, Reyna standing right behind her, smiling at him as a greeting. People who didn’t know Reyna might mistake her silence as a form of shyness, but Percy knew that she liked to mind her own business. Reyna was not an outgoing person. Except for when it came to Rachel.

“Ah, just for you, my dear”, he said grinning and hugged the redhead. “How are you?”

“Oh, I’m good, I’m good.”, Rachel said and pushed a curl out of her eyes. She was wearing a high neck top and her shoulders showed her tattoo, a water coloured sparrow. Reyna’s eyes flickered to Rachel’s bare skin quite often. “Just arrived, had to pick up Rey first, but now we’re here. Do you know whether there’s any special occasion?”

Percy shrugged. “I don’t think so. Well, they didn’t announce anything, but I guess there doesn’t have to be. Not for these two.”, he said grinning and nodded over towards Piper, who leaned in to give Jason a peck on the cheek after he gave her the beer.

The door swung open in that moment and Thalia came in and right next to her, Percy’s heart skipped a beat, Annabeth. They were chatting and Annabeth made Thalia laugh. Percy couldn’t keep his eyes off of Annabeth. She wore a dark skirt and a dark blue top, a necklace highlighted the round neckline and as Thalia made her way towards her little brother, she stood in the room, left alone, seeming a bit unsure where to go and what to do.

“If you would excuse me for a second?”, Percy said without actually looking at Rachel, but he could hear her and Reyna giggle and took it as a confirmation and made his way over to Annabeth. But before he had a chance to speak to her, Grover grabbed him by the arm and pulled him over.

“Hey, Perce, how are you?”, he asked and Percy sighed silently, but he could not _not_ talk to his best friend.

“Grover, good to see you. Yeah, good, yourself? How are things with Juniper?”

“Oh, everything’s going great. We’re actually, well, …”, he paused and took as deep breath as to brace himself for his next words, “thinking about moving in together.”

Although he was trying to look around Grover to keep Annabeth in his sight, this news caught his attention. “Really? Already?”

Grover looked at him, smiling shyly, and rubbing his beard. “I know, I know. But I think, Percy, she’s the one.”

Focussing fully on his best friend, Percy now raised an eyebrow. “You’ve been together for how long now? Was it five months?”

“Half a year, only three days ago.”

Pausing, Percy considered what his best friend just told him. The news was surprising but on the other hand, it wasn’t. Juniper and Grover had met in one of his lunch breaks, her working at a book shop and him usually needing some literature to get him through the week, otherwise he would get too caught up in overthinking the harm humanity did to the planet. Although he did a lot, supporting charities, rallying on weekends in the streets and reminding everyone at work to recycle, he felt like he wasn’t doing enough. It had been love on first sight, though. He remembered his friend telling him about the girl the day he met her and Percy now smiled.

“That’s great news, Grover, really.”, he put his hand on his friend’s shoulder, squeezing it. “And now, what? You need help finding a place? Or moving?”

“Both, actually…”, Grover answered and Percy laughed.

“Sure, no problem Grover. I will see what I can do, but be sure, I’ll be there to help you. Congratulations to six months, by the way.” Grover smiled at him again before turning around to join Juniper in her conversation with Reyna and Rachel.

Looking around, he found Annabeth sitting on a bar stool next to Piper. She was chatting with Thalia and Piper, telling them some story, and the girls started laughing before turning to look at Percy. He raised his eyebrows and made his way towards them, only to be followed by more giggling.

“Oh, about time that you show up here!”, Piper greeted him and handed him a beer. Percy took it, nipped on it, and smiled at the girls afterwards.

“Yeah, why so?”

“You haven’t greeted Thalia and Annabeth yet”, Piper simply stated.

“Hey Thals, and hey Annabeth. It’s great to see you.”, he felt his heart beating faster and Annabeth’s shy smile only added to his pulse being raised. He just wanted to say something, but Thalia came first.  
“Good to see you, Percy. Heard you’ve been having a bit of a crisis at work?”, she said and he literally had to force himself to look at her and away from Annabeth.

“Yeah”, he frowned and dishevelled his hair. “The printing press broke down and we’ve had to go there, repair it ourselves, talk the owner into a deal and try to keep the customers happy with a delay of their copy. Ask Piper, they had a lot to do, too.”

Instead of answering, Piper just nodded and took another sip from her drink, grinning back at Percy.

“But, luckily, I have very responsible employees, they took over the initiative and kept the company running.”, he allowed himself to look at Annabeth and nodded at her, which caused a small smile on her lips.

“Lucky you, then.”, Thalia sighed. “Sometimes I think that my brother and I always pick the worst people for the most important jobs. I would have, how do you say it, _let a few people go_ by now, but you know Jason. He’s too optimistic, always thinks things will turn out for the better.”

“Which they usually do”, Piper chirped and glanced over at her boyfriend, who now had joined Will and Nico, cheerfully telling a story. “I’ll go and check on him, I think.” And with that and a smile on her lips, she was gone.

“It’s… cute how much in love they are.”, Thalia commented when Piper leaned in to kiss Jason before sitting down next to him, leaning on him. Apparently, Percy had missed Leo’s arrival, because Jason was just talking to him. As he looked up, Percy waved at him.

“Come on, Thalia,”, he said, turning back to her, “you don’t have to force yourself to say these things when you don’t mean them”, Percy joked. Thalia had always been the reserved type of the Grace siblings, but this time she shook her head.

“Nope, I really mean it this time.”, her features softened and she smiled. “I better say hi to my baby brother as well, catch you later guys.”

And with that, it was suddenly just him and Annabeth, right there, sitting at the bar. Percy smiled at her, a bit lost for words. “I’m glad you came.”

Annabeth returned his smile and nodded, trying to catch a loose curl, and put it back up in the bun she was wearing. “Me too. I’m a bit disappointed you didn’t bring your dog, though.”

“She would have loved all the attention but the noise…”, he shrugged before putting his hands in his pockets.

“You look better now”, Annabeth commented and Percy looked down on his clothes, but then she quickly added: “As in, well rested. And nicely dressed.”

A smile spread out on Percy’s face and he bowed his head a little. “I can only return the compliment. You look great, Annabeth. As in, always.” She blushed and Percy’s heart jumped. He would not hold back anymore. That was over.

“Thank you”, she said, just as Jason swung his arm around Percy’s shoulder.

“You must be Annabeth. Very nice to meet you, I’m Jason. He’s only spoken very highly of you.”, Jason added, grinning sheepishly, patting him on the shoulder. Percy could feel his cheeks burn, but before he could address what his friend just said, Jason looked at Annabeth apologetic: “I’m afraid though, I have to borrow him for a second.”

With that an hour of not talking to Annabeth started. Jason’s second wasn’t actually a second, but as he revealed what he was about to do, Percy did everything he could to reassure him and calm him down. The next person who _desperately_ needed to talk to him was Will and it was work related, so he postponed it to Monday. “Go and make an appointment with Annabeth”, he joked but found Will standing next to her a few minutes later.

Percy felt like he was dragged from one conversation to the other and had to talk about Rachel’s brilliant initiative on Friday with her and Reyna before Juniper asked his opinion on whether she and Grover were too quick to move together and calmed her, the same way he did with Grover earlier, before Leo came along and wanted to know how things were going with Annabeth. He wiggled his eyebrows in a very annoying fashion, so Percy just shook his head, grinning at the young man with the unbendable curls, before turning around with the intention to go back and talk to Annabeth. Just then Nico approached him to ask why he wasn’t talking to Annabeth, who was sitting with Piper and Thalia, chatting happily over some cocktails.

“That’s what I’ve been trying to do for the last hour or so but people seem to desperately want to talk to me and I can’t get a free second to do what _I_ want.”

“Well, maybe you should go over now.”, Nico pointed out. Thalia was just leaving for the toilet and Piper stood on the bar, leaving Annabeth alone in her booth. Percy nodded and thanked Nico with that, before he made his way over to Annabeth. Sitting down opposite of her, he smiled at her.

“Finally,” he managed to say. “I was trying to talk to you for the last thirty minutes, at least. But all the time someone was in desperate need to talk to me. Soooo... How are you?”, he finished and grabbed another beer from Grover, who was just offering them to everyone.

“Seems like it’s not only fun and games to be good friends with your employees.”, Annabeth commented and took a sip from her green cocktail.

“That sounded accusing!”, Percy said, leaning back in fake shock. “Are you trying to condemn my work relationships, Ms Chase?”

Annabeth’s smile was worth his silly behaviour, but she shook her head, still grinning. “No, I’m rather amazed by it, Percy. How can you work so well with nearly all these people and still be good friends with them?” She leaned forward, one hand holding her drink, the other one put on the table next to it.

“It’s not a big problem.”, Percy answered and his eyes flickered to Annabeth’s hand. How easy would it be just to hold it? “You just need to find the right people. Those, who understand it when you have to make a decision, those who know that in the work place, work always comes first and those, who are not afraid to tell you when they think you’re doing the wrong thing.” To him, it always had been that simple. A good friendship had never ruined the work atmosphere. But what he was trying to have with Annabeth was unknown territory, even for him. “It’s all about trying to understand each other.”

“That sounds so easy, so light-hearted.”, she commented, looking down on her drink. As she looked up again, she smiled. “I actually admire that about you Percy.” His heart seemed to tap dance in his chest. “I would not be able to remain cheerful and happy if I had to run a company that I, as if it’s nothing, built up all by myself.”

Hearing that from Annabeth made his smile nearly too big for his face. The compliment always meant a lot to him, but coming from Annabeth, he was, for the first time, speechless and didn’t know how to respond. Luckily, Jason took over from there.

Suddenly standing in the middle of their little crowd, Jason lifted his beer and said: “Could I please have everyone’s attention?”

Annabeth’s head turned and Percy’s gaze lingered on her for another second before he looked at his friend standing amongst them. “I have a little announcement to make and I couldn’t be happier that you’re all here to hear it.”

Jason’s eyes first sought Percy’s, then Leo’s and then settled on Piper’s. She looked rather confused, her arms crossed before her chest, and as Jason got down on one knee, she gasped and covered her mouth with her hands.

“I know this is not even the slightest bit of what you imagined it to be like and I bet your mum would hate it, but I couldn’t think of a better opportunity, with all our friends here, at a place that holds good memories. My life has significantly improved since I met you, Piper McLean. I am more than grateful to have shared so many days of my life with you already and I would not mind to spending the rest of them besides you, too.” He pulled a little blue box out of his pocket and opened it. A small shimmering ring could be seen and then Jason held it out to Piper, who was already in tears. “Piper McLean, will you do me the honour and become my wi-”

Piper didn’t let him finish though. She cut him off with a kiss, flinging her arms around his neck and after kissing him, pressing her forehead against his, silently sobbing while she was laughing. It was a beautiful scene. Until Leo burst into loud cheering and clapping. Eventually Will joined him, close to tears himself, from what Percy could tell. Then everyone joined in and Leo went forward to hug Jason and Piper, who were still in a close embrace. Piper pulled him close and then finally, with Leo next to them, Jason managed to put the ring on Piper’s finger.

After that it was a wild mixture of hugging, clapping on backs, cheerful toasts, drinks, and music. Percy remembered being pulled into a hug by Jason and Piper at least twice, finding Will in tears (he _knew_ it), Nico trying to calm him down, Grover and Juniper cuddling in a booth, quietly whispering future plans and love promises at each other, Thalia being oh so happy with her little brother and hugging Piper whenever she could, drinks being spread around faster than one could drink them and it was pretty soon after the third round that Percy found himself sitting next to Annabeth.

She still looked wonderful. More and more hair hung out of her bun and framed her face. The dim lights from the bar made her eyes look like a dark storm and her smile… What would he have given to just touch her? Pull her into a hug? Hold her hands and kiss her…

“Well”, she started and Percy blinked twice, “that was unexpected.” In her hand she had a drink and she watched him carefully and raising her eyebrows then. “Oh but… not to you, because you… you knew. Of course, he’d tell you! You’re that close.”

The atmosphere had become much more relaxed. Piper and Jason were standing close to Percy and Annabeth, but they didn’t have eyes for anyone but each other. On Piper’s hand Percy could see Piper’s ring shimmering in the dull light of the bar.

Percy smirked at her. “Aren’t you a wise girl, hm?” For that, she hit him on the arm. And it actually hurt. “And a strong one as well, ouch. Where did you learn to hit like that?”

“I did a self-defence course when I came to New York. A girl gotta know how to defend herself.”

“Of course you did”, he said, now grinning. Annabeth seemed like the kind of person who would not rush into anything unprepared. Although this could turn out as a bit of a problem later.

“Nothing bad about it. This is a big city and everyone should know how to look after themselves.”, she said and emptied her drink. She set it down and then stood up. “I’ll be back in a second.”

Percy watched her make her way towards the toilets as someone suddenly turned the music up. It was some cheesy Ed Sheeran song and as Percy looked around, he could see Rachel turning the music up, while Piper and Jason slow-danced in a corner. It didn’t take long for Rachel and Reyna to join them and even Will could manage to pull Nico onto the dance floor. Percy watched them for a while, hoping Annabeth would come back before the song ended. But she didn’t.

Instead, Leo interrupted the slow song in the middle and put on some pop song from the 80’s and suddenly everyone was dancing, even Thalia. Somehow, he ended up with Piper next to him and Rachel in front of him. It was loud and silly and he laughed half the time, as suddenly Annabeth appeared next to him. Remembering his promise to himself, he grabbed her hand and twirled her around and placed a hand on her hip afterwards. He raised an eyebrow as to say: Will you hit me again or let me dance with you?

But Annabeth smiled. A bright smile, full of unspoken promises and Percy couldn’t believe his luck. He pulled her a bit closer and although their dancing style didn’t fit the music, he could not care less.  
Even before they started dancing Percy had been a bit… let’s call it tipsy. But afterwards it was even worse. Leo, apparently unsinkable when it came to drinks, had suggested a number of weird drinking games and their sole purpose had been to make people even more drunk. Everything seemed to spin around him as he let himself fall next to Will, who watched Nico dance to Nickelback from the bar. Annabeth sat down at his other side and as he looked at her, he couldn’t help but smiling.

He felt a hand sliding back in his and a grin spread out over his face. As soon as they’d finished dancing, he, shyly, took her hand and she let him. Now she was back, she put her hand in his this time and Percy’s stomach seemed to be full of butterflies. Her smile was enough to assure him that she was happy with his actions and the slight pressure that she was now putting on his hand made him raise an eyebrow.

Will stood up and moved over to join Nico at the dance floor and Percy realised that they now were by themselves, as much as you can be in a bar full of your friends.

“Annabeth?”, he asked her and she nodded.

“What is it, Percy?”

It took him a few seconds to get the words out. Her appearance distracted him once more. She had lost the bun and her blond hair was falling over her shoulders, curling at the tips, hanging in her eyes. Her cheeks were glowing and her eyes glistened with excitement.

But it wasn’t just that. And Percy knew it. He knew how attracted he was to her efficiency, to her intelligence, her attentiveness, and her sense of humour. “Annabeth?”, he mumbled again and moved a bit closer. Their faces were only inches apart now. Percy could make out features on her skin he’d never noticed, such as a couple of faint freckles on her nose and a beauty patch just above her lip.

“Mhhm?”

“Would you mind…”, he started and while he was still holding her other hand, he raised his free one and softly stroke her cheek, cupping her face afterwards. His thumb gently caressed her cheek a bit more and his gaze wandered over her eyes, down to her lips and back up to her eyes. Grey met green. And before he could say anything else, Annabeth leaned forward, bridging the gap that still was between them, and placed her lips on his.

The feeling that spread out in Percy was… pretty much indescribable. Warmth, happiness, light-headedness, the feeling he could accomplish everything, ecstasy and… a need to get closer. His hand found Annabeth’s hip, pulling her closer towards him while his other hand wandered through her hair. His tongue gently opened her lips and their kiss deepened. All the desire that had built up over the past few days now broke free and Percy sighed as Annabeth’s hand rested on his neck, pulling him closer.

As their kiss deepened even more and turned into something that should probably not be displayed at your friend’s engagement party, there was room for only one thought in Percy’s head:

Finally.


	7. SUNDAY

The next morning, Annabeth awoke with a soft sigh. There was a hand laying on her stomach, fingers were drawing gentle circles on her skin and the sound of someone breathing right next to her. A smile on her lips, she turned around – only to see her boss. Laying there, naked, his black hair standing away from his head messily and a cheesy smile on his lips while he blinked against the sunlight that made its way through the curtains.

“Morning beautiful”, he mumbled and Annabeth’s heart skipped a beat.

Then it hit her.

She was laying in bed, naked, with her boss.

With.

Her.

Boss.

Panic arose in her chest and she turned around again, now staring at Percy’s ceiling. Her heart raced and her palms got sweaty, clutching to the sheet, trying to cover her nakedness.

What had she done?

Closing her eyes, she went over the events from last night again.

After Percy had kissed her, she could recall Piper screaming and rushing towards her, congratulating her, patting Percy on the back, before retreating again into the safety of her boyfriend’s, no, fiancé’s, arms. The smug grin would not leave her face for the rest of the evening. Or the rest Annabeth could remember. Squeezing her eyes shut now, she also remembered Percy.

How he’d looked at her, eyes dark with desire, half a smile on his lips, his hand still holding hers. She had noticed that he’d gotten bolder that day. First, the invitation to the party, then how he behaved towards her… Nothing left of her boss trying to hold back. Nothing close to a proper boss-secretary relationship.

But she also remembered that she had been the one to kiss him. She had started all of this, in a way, didn’t she?

“How did you sleep?”, Percy’s voice called her back into the here and now.

“With you, apparently.”, she answered and turned again to face him.

“Hey, I thought witty remarks were my department?”, he said and raised an eyebrow before he grinned at Annabeth. She couldn’t stop it, a warm sensation spread out in her chest. It was just his presence that was enough to let her body forget how to properly function – and her brain as well, apparently.

“Sorry”, she mumbled and pulled the sheet up to cover her face. Her cheeks were burning.

“Don’t be”, Percy said after a short pause. Annabeth could feel his hand pulling down the sheet. He stroked away her hair that now pretended to be a bird’s nest, standing away in all directions. “What are you sorry for anyways?”

“For…”, she started but let out a frustrated sigh when she realised she couldn’t answer the question. “I don’t know. For making things hard? For complicating work with this?”, she said and gestured between them with her hands. “For…”

She couldn’t continue. Percy cut her off with a kiss. He supported himself on his elbow and his other hand gently stroked her cheek before it rested on her neck. What Annabeth felt as he kissed her though was… fantastic. It also brought back yesterday’s memories. Walking home with Percy, stopping every five meters to kiss him, having a late dinner at a Waffle House, ending up at his place and not minding it at all. But, that was Past-Annabeth. Present-Annabeth was not really convinced by her past self’s actions. Not yet.

But the way Percy kissed her, gently, making sure to put all his feelings in this kiss, Annabeth was out of breath when they broke apart, although it hadn’t been a passionate kiss.

“We’re both adults, to my knowledge there wasn’t anything we didn’t agree to and so it should all be fine, shouldn’t it?”, he smiled at her and it made Annabeth wish to have his level of carelessness – or confidence.

“But won’t it complicate company business?”

Percy leaned back and laughed. “Annabeth, not so wise anymore, hm?”

“Hey! Just because my brain is not filled with… what? Sea weed?”

Percy pouted. “That’s not fair!”

He examined her, the pout still on his lips. He then reached out to grab both of her hands with his and looked at her seriously. “No, but seriously Annabeth. It’s my company. You must have noticed that I handle staff situations differently than most other CEO’s, right?”

She nodded, entangling her fingers with his.

“And you must also admit”, he paused and raised an eyebrow, not looking at Annabeth but rather at nothing in particular. “Hey, a serious question, am I really the one explaining the smart-thinking things to you right now?”

As he said that, a smug grin spread out on his lips and Annabeth punched him on the arm.

“I was just making sure”, he assured her, chuckling. “You must have noticed though, dearest loveliest Annabeth, that things are different with us, right?”

“It’s like…”

“We’re drawn towards the other.”, Percy finished her sentence and nodded.

“It’s been like this right from the beginning.”, Annabeth said, nodding. She freed one of her hands and stroke through Percy’s untidy hair. He caught it when she wanted to put it down again and placed a kiss on the balm.

“It was. I couldn’t stop thinking of you, Annabeth. Especially after our pool thing. I… just had to make up my mind about how I’d approach this whole… well, us.” Now it was his time to use the hand gesture.

Annabeth smiled.

“And I noticed that repressing the whole thing would not work out, because, as we both already figured out, we couldn’t do that. It’s impossible to keep me away from you, Annabeth. And I don’t even want to.” He paused. His cheerful smile seemed to crack for a second and he took a deep breath, looking at her quite earnestly. “And if you’ll have me, I’d be more than happy. And if not, I’ll life with it. But please know your job is in no way in any kind of danger. I’m…”

But what he was or wasn’t Annabeth would never find out because in this moment she _knew_. Maybe it was seeing him so distressed about her rejecting him or it was him trying to assure her her job safety, Annabeth’s heart felt so full of… was it love? She needed to express herself and the only satisfying way to do so seemed to be a kiss. And what a kiss it was.

It started out slowly, full of soft touches, strokes through hair and over cheeks, before Percy’s hands wandered down to her collarbones and then over her back, gently drawing circles. He pulled her closer and Annabeth’s hand wandered over his back up in his hair, not wanting any space between them. Their heated bodies fit together perfectly and as he kissed his way down from her neck over her breasts to her legs, her breath came out as a moan.

When Annabeth came out of the shower she found a towel and one of Percy’s shirts next to the shower and a smile crept on her lips. The smell of scrambled eggs hit her when she left the bathroom and wandered into the kitchen, Percy was just putting two cups of coffee on the counter, next to a bottle of orange juice. Also, a big jar of Nutella and a spoon sticking out of it.

“Very mature”, she commented and leaned forward to get the toasts that just then came popping up. “But I don’t judge you. I do the same with peanut butter.”

“What?”, Percy exclaimed and turned around to look at her, his face in utter disbelief. “Peanut butter? Who does that?”

They both laughed and Percy patted on the chair next to him. At first, Annabeth felt a little awkward. She had flashbacks to her and Percy’s breakfast in his office, but then he handed her some milk and smiled at her and shyness melted away. They had their breakfast together in comfortable silence until Percy’s phone buzzed. A dozen times.

“This must be Piper”, he sighed and took his phone to check the texts. As he saw them, his ears grew red and he handed he swiped for a minute until he handed his phone over to Annabeth, who took it with an expression of fear written all over her face. Percy nodded at her, a soft smile on his lips. “It…”, he said grinning. “It really could be worse.” The tips of his ears still were red but Annabeth nodded.

Taking a deep breath, she looked down at the screen. The first thing she saw was a picture. It was a selfie of her, Piper and Thalia raising their cocktails. The next one was Annabeth and Percy, laughing together after the girls left her alone in the booth. The next was a picture of her and Percy sitting at the bar after Jason’s proposal. Then a picture of them dancing, more closely than she could remember. And the next three pictures were them hotly making out.

The message underneath all these pictures was confetti and the word “FINALLY” in all caps.

Putting the phone down again, Annabeth hid her face behind her hands. “Ugh, this…”, she mumbled but then she felt a soft touch and a hand pulling hers.

“Okay first, I gotta be soppy. Don’t hide these beautiful eyes from me, okay?”, Percy winked at her but then his face became more serious. “And second, I already told you, I won’t be embarrassed by this. I will embrace it because you are what I want.”

When she looked into his sea green eyes, she took a deep breath and nodded. “And I want you.”, she said confidently and leaned forward, trying to kiss him, but Percy held back, enjoying every second of this moment.

“You sure, wise girl?”, he asked, grinning broadly.

“Yes. And now kiss me, seaweed brain.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it guys. My first full fleched Percabeth-story. I hope you liked it. If so, it would be kind to leave a comment, telling me what you liked. And if not, let me know what I could do better next time! Thanks for reading it and staying tuned!

**Author's Note:**

> No demi-god past in this AU!
> 
> If you find any spelling / grammar / tense mistakes, please, I am begging you, let me know!


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